8:09 PM, 8th March, 2000
This is an Australian film starring Claudia Karvan and Hugh Jackman.
I first heard about this movie via a segment on "The Movie Show". The story sounded like a winner: a long haul truck driver writes a romance novel and publishes it under the name of his mate Ruby, thinking there'll be no harm in it as nothing will come of it. Of course this attitude tempts fate, and the novel is a great success. "Ruby" is required to come to Sydney and do the talk show circuit to promote the book. This initiates some tricky negotiations as the real Ruby, a tough talking cafe owner who also flies a cropduster, is just not interested.
Like a lot of Australian films, Paperback Hero makes good use of the incredible landscapes we have. The first part of the story is filmed in Queensland, and the professions of the two leads give plenty of scope for wide-angled shots of tiny machines surrounded by red earth. These are contrasted with shots of the concrete jungle of Sydney's CBD.
I liked parts of this film, but overall I found it unsatisfying. It seemed to lose its way in the final scenes.
Julie Sienkowski