BACKTRACK

Australia, 2015, 90 minutes, Colour.
Adrien Brody, Sam Neill, George Sheftsov, Robin Mc Leavy, Bruce Spence, Jenni Baird, Anna Lise Phillips, Chloe Bayliss, Malcolm Kennard.
Directed by Michael Petroni.

Backtrack is a small but enjoyably interesting ghost story. It does not begin immediately as ghost story but suggests a disturbed and disturbing atmosphere.

In an interesting piece of casting for an Australian film, Adrien Brody portrays Peter Bower, a psychiatrist working in Melbourne, reassuring his wife after frightening dreams, meeting a group of clients (including veteran actor Bruce Spence) who exhibit bizarre behaviour, seeming to have lost their memory, and trapped in a particular date, 12 July 1987. Peter finds this so disturbing that he seeks out his former mentor, Duncan, Sam Neill, at Melbourne University, puzzled because all these clients have been referred to him by Duncan.

When Peter starts investigating information about his clients, especially where they come from, west of Melbourne, he studies a map and finds it leads to a town called False Creek where he grew up.

Perhaps it should have been said earlier that this is a film about trains and should have a great appeal to train watchers and train spotters. The suburban Melbourne trains. the frequent travelling past, noisily, the windows of Peter’s office. He goes by train up to False Creek and we discover a whole back story including trains, bikes on rails, signal movements, and a deadly crash.

Peter stays with his father, George Shentsov. Peter is not close to him and has some bad memories of his poor parenting. Peter also looks up an old school friend and surfaces some old secrets. He also begins to have flashbacks, coming involved again in an incident with his friend and the disastrous consequences.

Peter’s daughter, Evie, had died in a car accident a year earlier and he is still grieving, cutting himself off from ordinary communication – and, in terms of the ghosts, opening himself up to the dead after her death and beginning to re—examine what had happened in his past. The testing of his conscience occurs in interviews with the local police officer, Robin Mc Leavy, the daughter of a woman who died in the crash, which leads to a dramatic denouement and the solving of the mystery.

When looking at mainstream ghost stories, many will be thinking about The Sixth Sense and other films which explored the interconnection between the living and the dead.

Backtrack is photographed quite atmospherically, many touches of darkness leading into the light. It is a ghost story worth telling.

1. The impact of the film drama, psychological study, mystery, ghost story? Retribution?

2. An Australian story, the initial locations in Melbourne, moving to the country, the country town and the surroundings?

3. The location photography, from dark to bright? Melbourne and the offices? Rooms? Trains and trams? The University quadrangle and rooms? Musical score?

4. A film about trains, in the present, in the city of Melbourne, the trains going past outside rooms? Trip to the country? The train line? The trains in the past? The spectacle of
the derailment? The final retribution with the train and Peter’s father?

5. Adrien Brody as Peter Bower, introduction, waking, reassuring his wife after her bad dreams, Noises in the house? The memories of his daughter, her death, the memories of playing with her, the beach? His being upset, closing down emotionally? The discussions with Duncan, in the quadrangle, in his office? Duncan providing him with clients? The range of clients in the interviews, their loss of memory, their aggression, the range of people, the counselling visits to Peter? The focus on 12 July 1987? Peter being disturbed? His talking to Duncan – Duncan providing the clients and if they were ghosts, then what about Duncan? The empty chair?

6. Peter searching for documents, death certificates, everybody dead, the same day, the map, tracing the locations, west of Melbourne, Bacchus Marsh – the trail to False Creek?

7. His travelling to visit his father, his attitude towards his father, despising him, memories of the past, the father’s working in the garage? Peter going to see Barry, talking with him in the hotel, raising the case after they had made the promise not to, Barry and his anger, walking out – and his hanging himself?

8. Peter revisiting the scene, watching the past, the flashbacks, the boys with the bikes, prying on the couple in the car, hearing the train coming, Peter trying to get the bicycles off the track, the crash, his seeing the victims in the train? The ghosts?

9. Peter spending the night in his old room, looking through the box, the article about the train crash? His decision, going to the police, encountering Barbara and wanting to give her a statement?

10. Barbara, the mother dead in the train, Peter knowing the details about her accent and pet name for her daughter? After finding Barry’s body, his return to give further statement and confession?

11. Barbara, remembering the time, admiring Peter’s father, nice, and a motivation for becoming a policewoman?

12. Peter, tracing the events of the night, burning the newspaper but finding the information about the schoolgirl, her badge in the signal box? Barbara making the suggestion about Peter’s father’s behaviour?

13. Barbara, going to the Father, the accusation, his attack on her, putting her in the boot of the car?

14. Peter remembering, the girl, in the signal box, his father and the rape, putting her body in the train wreck?

15. The alternative to a train crashing, not because of bicycles on the track but because of the rape and the attack and the knocking of the signal?

16. The reason for the ghosts, Peter open to ghosts after the death of his daughter, her enabling him to reopen himself, guilt, responsibility, closure?

17. Peter, the confrontation with his father, the car? His father and the gun? The revelation of his father? Driving, the ghost on the road, his swerving crashing? On the rail track?

18. Peter, recovering, shooting to let Barbara out of the boot? For his father to get out of the car, the oncoming train and his death?

19. Peter on the beach, at peace about his daughter, with his wife, free to live their lives?