Finally, the low budget comedy has reached a moment of sincere, and pretty hilarious, self reflection. The Australian indie “The Rage in Placid Lake” toys with the common conception and tropes of teen coming-of-age stories while never taking its subject matter too seriously. Placid Lake (played by Australian songster Ben Lee) is the generic odd man out in his high school. Raised by two loving, but tragically stuck-in-the-sixties parents, Placid finds solace from quasi-homosexual bro-bullies, enthusiastic but eventually uncaring teachers and the general pressures of teen dating in his only friend—the incredibly cute girl-next-door, Gemma (played by Rose Byrne).
When the harassment of said bullies leads to a three-story fall that breaks every bone in Placid’s body, he is prompted to change his quirky ways and find a job at the local insurance company. However, in an effort to conform and become another mindless drone in the endless machinery of the corporate world, Placid’s lying-slacker-do-nothing character finds firm footing and quickly shoots to the top of office success. Meanwhile, after his parents take an impromptu vacation to live with New Guinea natives, Gemma moves in while waiting to be accepted to med school, and they both assume the platonic roles of living together. Sexual office politics quickly convince Placid to make a move next time he goes home, and his best friend leaves him. As his steady rise up the soul-eating corporate laddar slowly alienates more and more of those around him, Placid is forced to confront the change in his life and the motivation behind his actions.
This film is exactly what you think it is, only about 150 percent better than you would expect. Witty, sincere and above all funny dialogue offers stylized characters who are still realistic enough to care about and solid, deadpan comedic acting that puts the final touches on a great film. Written and directed by Australian relative newcomer Tony McNamara, the film could easily be the beginning of a very great and very funny career, and seems to be the first of a new trend of low budget high school movies lighthearted enough to laugh at themselves while still telling a damn good story.
Released in 2003, “The Rage in Placid Lake” is available on DVD from Film Movement, an interesting low-budget DVD distributor specializing in small festival fare that rarely sees more than a few screens. It’s definitely worth checking out the copy available at Russell Library.
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