Product: Flirting [VHS] (1992)
Rating: 5.0
Great cast and director
I haven't seen John Duigan's preceding film ("The Year My Voice Broke") but Noah Taylor was obviously fascinating in "Flirting" as a dreamy misfit in a Nazi-like boarding school. Honestly I could hardly relate this British guy to the roles he later landed in such Hollywood movies as "Almost Famous", "Lara Croft Tomb Raider", "Vanilla Sky"... What an amazing evolution for a versatile actor.The same fine performance that made this film deserve 5 stars was delivered by Thandie Newton who would also become a celebrity a few years later, starring with Tom Cruise in two blockbuster hits, "Interview With a Vampire" and "Mission Impossible II" (although her best film to me must be Bernardo Bertolucci's "Besieged"). Add an exceptionally talented Nicole Kidman who was actually 24 years old when she accepted this role of a teen, and you got a perfect cast to turn a not-so-sensational-coming-of-age love story into a nearly perfect romantic comedy. Oh yes, it should also be noted that Taylor, Newton and Kidman were not the only ones to work their way to stardom since this film was released in 1991. Among the girls of Cirensester school, have you noticed a Janet Odgers? That role was played by a young and pretty Naomi Watts.