Overview
A gripping exploration of love, loss, and the tangled web of human relationships in a city rife with secrets.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- melancholic
- tense
- intimate
- serious movie night
- australian cinema showcase
What critics said
Critics broadly praised Lantana as an intricately plotted, authentic, and quietly gripping ensemble character study.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The stories of the Zats, O'Mays, D'Amatos, and Knoxes converge through a disappearance and shared personal tensions.
The missing-person case is inseparable from Valerie and John's unresolved grief over Eleanor and from the other characters' buried pain.
The film emphasizes understated domestic conflict, therapy, infidelity, and everyday pressure in Sydney.
The investigation moves through linked Sydney households and routines, showing how neighbors, couples, police, and therapists overlap.
Films like Lantana, and why
Short Cuts
interwoven ensemble structure, emotionally damaged strangers, and urban relationship crises
Magnolia
interlocking narratives, marital alienation, grief, and psychologically intense ensemble drama
Mystic River
quietly escalating investigation fused with domestic secrets, guilt, and moral ambiguity
The Ice Storm
a missing-person mystery used to expose fractured relationships and buried emotional pain
Movie Details
- Director
- Ray Lawrence
- Release Date
- 2001-10-04
- Runtime
- 121 min
- Rating
- 6.7 / 10 (236)
Cast
- Anthony LaPaglia
- Geoffrey Rush
- Barbara Hershey
- Kerry Armstrong
- Rachael Blake
- Vince Colosimo
- Russell Dykstra
- Daniela Farinacci
- Peter Phelps
- Leah Purcell
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Philo, BFI Player Amazon Channel, Shout! Factory Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Lantana about?
- A Sydney detective’s affair and a suspected disappearance expose the grief, betrayals, and fragile connections binding several troubled couples together.
- What is Lantana like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Lantana as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Lantana violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Lantana as moderate.
- What did critics think of Lantana?
- Critics broadly praised Lantana as an intricately plotted, authentic, and quietly gripping ensemble character study.
- Which films are like Lantana?
- Films with a similar feel include Short Cuts, Magnolia, Mystic River, and The Ice Storm.
- How long is Lantana?
- Lantana runs 121 minutes.
- Where can I watch Lantana?
- In United States, Lantana streams on Philo, BFI Player Amazon Channel, Shout! Factory Amazon Channel.
