How does one survive trauma? Is it through perseverance? Through friendship? Or is it a resistance to the past, a determination to move forward whatever the cost?

Trauma and its catastrophic effects on relationships are front and centre in the new slow-burn drama, Hearts and Bones, the second directorial endeavour and first co-writer credit for Ben Lawrence (whose 2018 debut feature, Ghosthunter, stunned critics and audiences alike). Headed by the inimitable Hugo Weaving (The Matrix, Lord of the Rings), and featuring a powerful performance by newcomer Andrew Lurie, Hearts and Bones culminates in an emotional gut-punch that feels both unexpected and severe.

In the years following a devastating and unfortunate encounter in Iraq, Daniel Fisher (Hugo Weaving), a revered Australian photojournalist, spends his days struggling with trauma and guilt. After unveiling details for his upcoming exhibition, he is befriended by South Sudanese cab driver, Sebastian Ahmed (Andrew Lurie), who is eager for Fisher to take photos of his community choir. Sebastian’s real motive, however, is for Daniel to withdraw one of his exhibition photos, depicting a massacre that occurred in Sebastian’s village. With the added tension of hearing his wife Josie (Hayley McElhinney) has fallen pregnant, Daniel begins to fray at the seams, whilst Sebastian struggles desperately to keep his secrets - the two men gradually spiral into an unforgiving world of trauma and anxiety.

Weaving imbues Daniel Fisher with a rugged weariness; he is at once soft-spoken yet zealous, his occasional flights of rage are nothing less than heartbreaking. As Sebastian, Lurie shines with a natural ease and believability. Lurie possesses a buoyancy and charm that shines in both his most profound and sensitive moments. Hayley McElhinney and Bolude Watson put in strong and noteworthy supporting performances. McElhinney is tender yet stern, while Watson’s Anishka, the playful matriarch, is good-natured yet imperious. As Sebastian secrets unravel, both Anishka and Josie are thrust into deeply conflicting circumstances, allowing McElhinney and Watson to provide particularly nuanced and noteworthy performances.

Cinematographer Hugh Miller (Ghosthunter, 2040) captures the beauty and grief with an eager eye, opting for a slow and contemplative style that evokes foreboding tension. Daniel and Josie are captured bereft in their cavernous apartment, their physical distance mimicking the void that has surfaced in their emotional connection. Conversely, Sebastian and Anishka are stuffed into a tiny flat, living on top and through each other. Writing duo Beatrix Christian and Andrew Lawrence show a true craftsmanship to their work, reveling in their sensitive character dynamics in clear and immediate ways, adding a great deal of depth and weight to the emotional framework of the film. 

At the film’s ultimately optimistic conclusion, Lawrence does not pretend to present any easy answers to the myriad problems of immigration and the effects of trauma. He merely celebrates the opportunity to find strength through a community. Hearts and Bones, despite being a tumultuous, emotionally-wrought drama, yields a certain sense of hope and clarity that seems particularly refreshing at this moment.

4 out of 5 stars

“Hearts and Bones” is now available across all major digital platforms. (iTunes, Google Play/YouTube, Telstra, Fetch TV, Sony Playstation etc).