High Tide (1987)

Powerful

Don't listen to the negative reviews

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

This film, though, critically acclaimed, has of course not yet been released in the U.S. on DVD, like another great - Christine Lahti's "Housekeeping", out the same year. But if you can support Region 4 (Australian) DVD's, this little masterpiece should be in your collection. There are still some VHS copies available on the internet as well.Davis is complemented by a great story, as well as memorable performances from her supporting cast, especially Claudia Carvan and the late, great Jan Adele. Amazingly, or maybe not, this film and its stars went unacknowledged at Academy Awards time, as did "Housekeeping", but treat yourself to both of them - you will be glad you did!

High Tide an emotional rollercoaster that leaves you satisfied. Judy Davis is pure genuis in this role.A back up singer fired from her job ,her car breaks down .She trying to get back on the road when see meets her daughter that she gave away long ago.Now the life she was living she wants to change now.

"High Tide" is one of the greatest movies most people haven't seen. If you just read a plot summary, the story may seem unbelievable. But thanks to writing, acting, directing and music scoring of the highest caliber, this film works on every level. According to director Gillian Armstrong, the role played by Judy Davis was originally written for a man. But Armstrong's husband suggested rewriting it for a woman. Davis gives one of her best performances in "High Tide," and that's saying something for such an accomplished actress. Physically she is a very mannered performer, reminiscent of such great actresses of the 1930s and '40s as Bette Davis and Katharine Hepburn. But Davis is also incredibly subtle. Just watch her face and you can see every thought process, every emotion. Davis' performance was helped tremendously by Gillian Armstrong, who is not afraid of lingering on a closeup way beyond when lesser directors would have cut away. It's one of her greatest strengths as a director. She allows a scene to play out. Nothing is rushed so everything unfolds naturally, helps add to the realism of "High Tide." (She does the same thing in "The Last Days of Chez Nous," another of her best efforts.) This is a movie to be cherished. It's an object lesson to mainstream Hollywood on how to turn what could have been a sappy, cliched movie into a moving work of art.

This is one film I am always recommending to friends looking for something "different" to see. On paper it sounds like one of those 1940's "women's pictures" but in execution it is something really special and beautiful. Gillian Armstrong adds real texture and symbolic heft to the simple story--those speeding-camera shots of the water are wonderful!--and is aided by a sublime cast. Judy Davis gives what is, for my money, quite possibly the greatest performance ever captured on film. She has two scenes in particular--the initial confrontation with her ex-mother-in-law, and a lengthy conversation in a parked car with her daughter where she tries to explain and make sense of her life--that are just extraordinary. This is acting of the highest order and, like the film itself, rises above its meager melodramatic roots.