Essay about Family and Year-old Italian-australian Living

Submitted By crazyjingles123
Words: 507
Pages: 3

Set in suburban Sydney, LFA charts the trials and tribulations of a seventeen year-old Italian-Australian living through the trying days between adolescence and womanhood. Josie Alibrandi has been raised by her mother and grandmother “Nonna”, her father having departed for greener pastures shortly after her conception. Her extended family has preserved their old-country traditions, but time spent in the company of her peers and a healthy dose of youthful rebelliousness have left her torn between her ingrained sense of familial duty and a burning desire for independence. Matters are complicated by her attendance at a swank private school, where your father’s occupation is the most important indicator of your social status; the attentions of no less than two potential suitors and the re-appearance of her father after a seventeen year absence.

You could be forgiven for thinking that this sounds like a big-screen version of Dawson’s Creek, but nothing could be further from the truth. Australian filmmakers tend to eschew the gloss of their Hollywood counterparts, lending an earthy feel to their productions which drives the schmaltz-meter into the dead zone. The limited budgets and lack of studio involvement also pays dividends in the casting, since filmmakers are free to find the right person for the part instead of having the latest hot property foisted upon them by anxious studio execs.

The major players are therefore perfectly cast, their relative lack of exposure lending a pleasing ring of truth to their portrayals. If this was a major Hollywood production we would probably have been treated to a star turn by Mena Suvari, and that would have been our loss because Pia Miranda plays Josie like she was born to the role. The character calls for a delicate balancing-act, since Josie projects both street-smarts and vulnerability in equal proportions, but Miranda’s open features and expressive vocal delivery ensure she’s never less than convincing. Her natural affability also enables those who have left their