Australia

This is a sprawling epic, with great performances from both Kidman and Jackman. The film looks fantastic too but at 165 minutes, it’s much too long. The problem with historical dramas sometimes is the filmmakers want to put it all in. In films, you need to focus on certain aspects of history, much like when adapting a book, you focus on portions of the story that are interesting. Sometimes it’s necessary to even compress or even remove or rework parts of the historical record in order to make a good film. Too much history in a movie that is too long might come off boring some people. The invasion sequence at the end of the film could have been cut to make a more powerful story. As it is now, the invasion, while spectacular, is extraneous and feels tacked on. I don’t think the story would have suffered if it had been left out.