Cast: Sam Neill, Kevin Harrington, Tom Long, Patrick Warburton, Genevieve Mooy, Tayler Kane, Bille Brown, Roy Billing, Eliza Szonert, John McMartin
Director: Rob Sitch
Producers: Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner, Jane Kennedy, Rob Sitch
Screenplay: Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner, Jane Kennedy, Rob Sitch
Cinematography: Graeme Wood
Music: Edmund Choi
U.S. Distributor: Warner Brothers
With all of the offal flittering across multiplex screens during this winter of cinematic discontent, it's a genuine pleasure to see a feel-good movie like The Dish, a semi-factual look at the part played by a small town in Australia during the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing. The Dish doesn't put on any airs, nor does it try to do too much. Instead, it tells a simple story and gives us a small group of affable, believable characters existing in a setting that will either stir up ripples of nostalgia (for those who remember the summer of '69) or generate pangs of curiosity (for those who don't).
The Dish takes us back to the third week in July 1969, when (metaphorically speaking) all eyes were cast in the direction of our nearest celestial neighbor, where Neil Armstrong was about to take the most famous documented step in modern human history. July 20, 1969 was one of those rare days when most of humanity was focused on an event that had more to do with the triumph of the human spirit than with war, religion, or death. The Dish successfully transports us back in time to that slightly different era without resorting to the cliches that are often used to indicate a time shift to late '60s or early '70s. (There is a great, song-laden soundtrack to help out, though.)
Most movies made about the moon landing have a decidedly American viewpoint. The Dish is an exception, and its different vantage is one of its strongest assets. The film transpires in the rural Australian town of Parkes, where the largest radio telescope in the southern hemisphere is being "borrowed" by NASA to track Apollo 11 on its famous trip. Most exciting to the people of Parkes, the television images of the moonwalk are due to be broadcast using their dish. This is a source of tremendous civic pride, despite the fact that the Parkes radio telescope is located in the middle of a sheep paddock.
The telescope is operated by Cliff Buxton (Sam Neill), the "dishmaster", a hard-working, knowledgeable man who lost some of the joy of life when his wife died the year before. He is joined by his two assistants, Mitch (Kevin Harrington) and Glenn (Tom Long), and a NASA representative, Al Burnett (Patrick Warburton). Together, these four are responsible for handling the operations that will allow Houston to keep in constant contact with the spacecraft and to allow the world to see Armstrong's historic space walk. Of course, there are difficulties - such as a power failure and an inconvenient wind storm - but nothing the intrepid team cannot handle.
The Dish is peppered with subplots, including the heroic reception of the American Ambassador to Australia in Parkes, the political maneuvering of Mayor Bob McIntyre, and a genial romantic flirtation between shy Glenn and a pretty local girl named Janine (Eliza Szonert). None of these secondary story threads detracts from the central element; in fact, if anything, the color they provide adds to it. The Dish is not as much about the moon landing as it is about the gathering together of a town and the unsung courage of the behind-the-scenes people who are as important to any great event as those in the limelight.
With his quiet, unforced performance, Sam Neill towers over the production. His Cliff Buxton is a fully realized character - a man of great inner strength and integrity who occasionally shows a hint of sadness. The reason for this is explained, but not dwelt upon, and it never becomes the fuel for a silly or melodramatic moment. American actor Patrick Warburton (who may be best known for a recurring role on the TV series "Seinfeld") is also a standout, managing to both embody and defy worldwide preconceptions about American arrogance. Finally, mention should be made of the job done by Tayler Kane, who, as the dish's security officer, provides a lion's share of the film's funniest moments.
The Dish is a comedy with a heart - a rare thing in the movies these days. The film was directed by Rob Sitch, whose previous effort was the equally endearing The Castle. The Dish is based on a true story, but, as with most effective fictionalized historical events, Sitch elects to focus on the characters rather than on The Moment. The latter is there, but it means more because of who we're experiencing it with. And, of course, for those old enough to recall the moon landing, it will inevitably merge with personal memories (much as was true of Tony Goldwyn's A Walk On the Moon - another low-key, character-driven dramatic comedy about events happening on that July day more than three decades ago). For those who think motion pictures have become a largely joyless affair, The Dish provides a pleasant counter-example.
© 2001 James Berardinelli