The Castle

I am actually enjoying the fag end of my vacation seeing more movies than ever. And I am being immensely helped with the Queensland floods. Not that I am happy about the floods. Some of the images that I am seeing on the Channel 9 news are scary as hell. But funnily, in a situation like this, this country doesn’t experience power failures. It is endearing to see the number of people who are braving the flood waters to save people all across the state of Queensland which has been covered by water to the extent of New South Wales – 810K sqkms i.e. 1/4th the size of India – Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab put together. Stories of Davids taking on Goliath in the form of mother nature are trickling in. I had the good fortune of seeing a story on these lines but it was more like Daryl taking on Goliath and it didn’t have to do with floods but was inspiring and definitely strikes a chord.


Daryl Kerrigan (Michael Caton) is a family man. His idea of a good time is to spend as much time @ home with his wife, 3 sons, a daughter and 4 grey hounds. The great part is that everyone in the family also believes in the same. The family stays in a suburb that is extremely close to Melbourne Airport. So much so that he can as well call it his backyard - they share a wall with it. The idea was that the property would appreciate significantly over a period of time but 15 years later they are still very much at status quo, along with the 3 other families that have survived. They are not very educated with the highest qualification within the family being that of Tracey (Sophie Lee) who has completed a diploma in hair dressing – the proudest moment in Daryl’s life. Daryl is like a retired father who gets his thrills in collecting stuff just because it’s a good bargain – irrespective of whether he finds it useful or not. He makes his living by running a tow truck service.

So if you are wondering what is so Daryl v/s Goliath about the whole scene, you don’t need to wait for too long. The Melbourne city council decides that it is time to expand the airport. Backed with private investors, the project is expected to cost over $2 billion – remember this is set in the 90s where $2b was a hell of a lot of money. A casual visit from a surveyor doesn’t raise many eyebrows in the simple Kerrigan household. In fact Daryl is more than glad to show the surveyor around and proudly talks about the changes he is making. Needless to say, the evacuation notice arrives a couple of weeks later and leaves the household stumped. The other 3 families also receive similar notices. The law allows the government to forcibly acquire land / property and provide adequate compensation. But the Kerrigan family is not interested in compensation. Compensation can be provided for a house. Not for a home. What follows is the story of Daryl taking on the system, all the way upto the constitution of the country – the ultimate law.

The Castle is not the best made movie per se. But it is one that picks on a relevant topic which has a social implication. The government is definitely justified in asking for land for development but have they evaluated all options available before taking the last call of uprooting people from the truck loads of memories, blood, tears, toil and sweat that have gone into building their lives. Most importantly, it addresses the sensitivity with which the issue is dealt with and gives inspiration to loads of people who may have been denied justice in a case like this. Director Rob Stich is an Aussie director who seems to know his job. The movie appears to be shot on a shoe string budget but the narration is tight and there are no inconsistencies – the basis of making a good film. Add to it the sincerest of performances from the entire cast led by Michael Caton. One would also notice a very muscular and well built person in the role of Con Petropoulous the fiancé and eventually husband of Tracey Kerrigan. Takes a while to identify him but he is indeed Eric Bana in what he would probably term as one of the least intense roles he has ever played in his life. He has sure come a long long way. I give The Castle a 7 on 10. Surely must watch if possible.