At first glance you might think this wouldn't be a Paul film, but when you consider my love for picnics and the outback, maybe you'll realize this has many of the ingredients i love in a movie.<br /><br />I picked this from "Quickflix" as it was a movie I'd kind of been interested in seeing. When we got it in the mail and Tara wasn't even keen to watch it, I started to have doubts. "Isn't it from the seventies", she exclaimed. We argued the pros and cons of watching it and then she agreed (or gave in, I don't remember).<br /><br />"Picnic at Hanging Rock" is based upon a novel, which I thought was based upon a true story, which it turns out it doesn't seem to be. The novelist was always evasive when asked about the events, but it seems certain they never occurred. Annoying. Basically a bunch of school girls in 1900 go on a picnic to Hanging Rock. Four of the girls wander off. 1 gets separated from the group and returns to the others, frantic that she's lost her friends. A teacher then goes after the lost girls. When it gets dark, the remaining return to the school, horrified that they've lost 4 members. Search parties look for the girls over the coming week and find 1 girl, but the rest remain lost forever.<br /><br />The movie is directed very well (Peter Weir) and is eerie at times, but it really loses intrigue after the half way mark. The cast is pretty weak, which didn't help at all. My highlights were:<br /><br />-Vivean Gray, in her best work outside playing Mrs Mangel in "Neighbours". -The phrase "have you taken leave of your senses".<br /><br />-John Jarrett, in his best work outside of "Better Homes & Gardens".<br /><br />Lowlights include: <br /><br />-No "real" picnic eg sandwiches, eskies etc. -The score. -The fact I discovered it's not based upon a true story. Not that I wish 3 girls and their teacher perished, just that I feel I've been misled for the last 30 years.