Carting crates of beer from the neighborhood bar to parties in his house, he drinks until he explodes in the most barbarous and realistic wife beating even seen on a movie screen. A Nebbadoon review by Joan Ellis. It is a story of some of New Zealand's Maori people, who have moved from their heritage to the modern world, only to become stuck in poverty on the outskirts of Auckland in the shadow of a billboard that trumpets New Zealand's natural beauty. They sing when they are happy, they sing when they are drunk, and they are drunk much of the time.
Alcohol fuels their pleasure and their violence.
On the day he is laid off, Jake intensifies his drinking to cover his rage at being a loser and to forget his miserable surroundings. Carting crates of beer from the neighborhood bar to parties in his house, he drinks until he explodes in the most barbarous and realistic wife beating even seen on a movie screen. Barely able to speak with her swollen throat, Beth fights back with words that invite more violence. This woman's weapon is language. She pokes and provokes Jake as she passes in and out of resentment and resignation.