Moody, atmospheric Australian film about a school teacher in a remote costal town trying to figure out what happened to his predecessor. A cast of mostly unknown actors (at the time) delivers an exceptional job of creating a sense of impending dread. The teacher finds himself ostracized by most of the town folk, who all seem to be in on a cover-up. Or are they?
Plus points for one of the best seduction scenes in the history of film. The teacher, played by buffed actor Nick Tate, catches the eye of his Romanesque boarding house manager. She's pretty obvious about what she wants at the first meeting, just never gets around to vocalizing it. What make this and ever other scene with her brilliant is that she doesn't have to say anything.
The ending is telegraphed and most people will predict it by the final third of the film. The ending is also what caused the poor reception for Summerfield when it was first released. However, if you pay attention to the conclusion, there are signs indicating a lot left unsaid.
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