The Rage In Placid Lake

Australian playwright Tony McNamara makes his directorial debut with the offbeat comedy The Rage in Placid Lake, adapted from his own play The Cafe Latte Kid. In his first feature film, indie rocker Benny Lee stars as a troubled teen named Placid Lake. The child of new-agey eccentric parents (Garry McDonald and Miranda Richardson), Placid spends his childhood getting picked on by bullies. Fortunately, he finds friendship with classmate Gemma Taylor (Rose Byrne), whose father (Nicholas Hammond) pressures her to excel in school. After Placid shocks the school with his dark student film, he gets into an accident that lands him in the hospital. Upon his recovery, he reinvents himself as an conservative insurance agent and engages in an affair of sorts with emotionally detached co-worker Jane (Saskia Smith). The Rage in Placid Lake was screened at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. — Andrea LeVasseur