Darryl Kerrigan, the father of a family living in a house in a suburb of Melbourne, is informed by the government authorities that he has to leave his home since the nearby airport is planned to be expanded on his land. Darryl protests and hires a friend, a freelance lawyer, Dennis, to represent him in court, but the judge rejects his complaint. Unknown thugs come at night to pressure Darryl to accept the offer, and then his car windshield is smashed. Upon hearing about his plight, a retired lawyer, Hammill, accepts to represent him for free and files an appeal at the High Court of Australia in Canberra. The case is ruled in Darryl's favor, who gets to keep his house, and his kids and wife rejoice.
One of the most popular Australian films domestically, "The Castle" works due to the fact that it is able to appeal both towards the specific local cultural mentality—the attempted eviction of a family from their house is reminiscent of the Australian dispossession of the native Aborigines, thereby imbibed in historical subconsciousness—and universal audience—since anyone in any country can identify with a father who would protect his home. Written in a rather thin, too rudimentary and overstretched way, where the director Rob Sitch and screenwriters seemingly cannot agree upon if they should present this story in the form of a legal court battle or "practical battle" on the field, the film is still fun to watch and appeals thanks to its likeable characters, with Michael Caton standing out as dad Darryl. Too much of the time is focused on "off-topic" moments which don't have anything to do with the eviction threat, yet they are still amusing (dad complimenting mom's cooking, saying to the kids that they don't need to waste their money on restaurants when they can get such good food at home; dad jokingly trying to help his now-grown up daughter to make it in show business by saying how he should send a tape of her when she was a two-year old to the Home Videos). The highlight is the "serious" court battle led by veteran lawyer Hammill (excellent Bud Tingwell) who gives an outstanding speech in front of the judges. Later on, during a break, the moved Darryl looks at Hammill and says: "I wish I had your words". More humor and inspiration would have been welcomed, yet overall this is still a charming little film about the fight for your own rights.
Grade:++
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