Movie Review: “Last Cab to Darwin”

“Last Cab to Darwin,” a charming Aussie euthanasia road-trip movie, takes a tough subject and amiably rides it out into the Outback sunset. It’s a wry film that remains upbeat without betraying its rough-around-the-edges cast of characters. Taxi driver Rex (Michael Caton, excellent) has never lived anywhere else except the desolate town of Broken Hill, a real place with a name that screenwriters dream about. His life consists of hanging out with his dog, knocking down a few with his buddies at the bar, and enjoying closeted relations with Polly (Ningali Lawford-Wolf, wonderful), the feisty Aboriginal woman across the street. But when Rex discovers that he has terminal stomach cancer, then reads that euthanasia is available in far-off Darwin, he gets his affairs in order and hops in his cab for a trip to his final destination: death. This being a road movie, some interesting folks turn up and join Rex for the ride: the cocky but vulnerable Tilly (Mark Coles Smith, appealing) and Julie (Emma Hamilton, lovely), who has somehow drifted from London to the remote Outback. Director Jeremy Sims mines droll humor from the reserved Rex and the seemingly confident Tilly. Though we never quite believe that Julie would quit her barmaid job to take care of Rex, she is a welcome, tender presence.

Source/more: SF Gate

David Wingate is an elder law attorney at the Elder Law Office of David Wingate, LLC. The elder law office services clients with powers of attorneys, living wills, Wills, Trusts, Medicaid and asset protection. The Elder Law office has locations in Frederick and Montgomery Counties, Maryland.