I first read John Marsden’s ‘Tomorrow, When the War Began’ when it first came out in 1993, and the books had a profound affect on me. When the extended series (‘The Ellie Chronicles’) finally came to an end in 2006, I felt like I’d grown up with these characters, having been reading about them for half my life. Thus, it was with nervous anticipation (and a smidge of trepidation) that I patiently awaited the arrival of the movie.
Stuart Beattie’s film is not without its faults, however is true to the source material and a great film overall.
First of all, the casting is fantastic. Every single character is brought to life in the exact same fashion I remembered from the books. Caitlin Stasey grounds the film as central character, Ellie. Whilst I was not in the slightest bit convinced that this girl regularly wields chainsaws on a farm with those slender arms, she does otherwise perfectly embody Ellie – a thoroughly practical young woman who is one of the first to be transformed by the war. Phoebe Tonkin is particularly hilarious as ‘townie’ Fi, who is initially the least capable of taking care of herself, much less going head to head against the invaders. Rachel Hurd-Wood, who perhaps has the most extensive film resume of the young actors, is wonderful as Ellie’s best friend, Corrie, as is Deniz Akdeniz as Homer. Chris Pang expertly manages perhaps the most difficult job as Lee, who is definitely the outsider of the group, whilst Ashleigh Cummings is brilliantly spot on as the über-religious Robyn.
The film looks great – it has a decent budget behind it and truly does justice to the more spectacular moments from the book. The action is well handled too, which manages to find the right balance between exhilarating and realistic. Beattie manages to ramp up the tension in several wonderfully executed scenes early on, and the whilst this is an action film and does work on that level, he hasn’t forgotten the more sobering moments of the book – the emotional repercussions of their violent acts certainly aren’t ignored. Also, the film’s comedic moments are truly hilarious.
Tomorrow When the War Began isn’t without a misstep or two, however, and these are rather glaring. There are three crucial scenes that simply feel a bit… awkward. Unfortunately, they are critical to the story, yet the direction feels confused. Beattie has indeed taken much of the dialogue straight from the books, so perhaps this is a simply a case where some more creative rewriting needed to occur in the transition from book to screen. It is such a pity that the film falters in these few moments – and they are indeed only moments – when the rest is so wonderful.
Thankfully, these missteps don’t overwhelm Tomorrow When the War Began, and certainly don’t stop it from being an action-packed flick with a disturbing undercurrent paralleling the characters’ collective loss of innocence. It mightn’t be perfect, but it’s a wonderfully refreshing film to see coming out of Australia, and it certainly does justice to John Marsden’s work.