Review – On the Beach

For an end-of-the-world movie, this sure is depressing. The average atomic annihilation picture follows a predictable path: the forces of good struggle against impending nuclear doom, and then the picture ends with a flashy display of fiery destruction. Or we may be treated to the aftermath, a dark world full of destruction and radiation. In this rare effort, however, the war is over before the picture starts. Most of the movie is set in Australia, which remains initially unravaged by the holocaust thanks to its noncombatant status and Southern Hemisphere location. Indeed, the only immediate effect on the culture is the sudden return to horse-drawn vehicles thanks to a shortage of petroleum products. The death of the world creeps in here very slowly, starting with a nuclear sub’s journey to San Francisco to check for survivors and ending with the eventual atmospheric spread of radiation across the globe. Though this world ends not with a bang but a whimper, that whimper is more poignant and disturbing than any big Hollywood fireworks show. Worth seeing