MUBI

This is definitely a film that will polarize its audience. On the one hand, it’s a pleasant (albeit non-germane) ‘family’ film that never rises above its indie roots. On the other hand, it’s too cloying for your average viewer. It’s all very similar to the superior ‘Lars And The Real Girl’, and even though this technically came out first, I’d recommend that film over this one any day.

The acting is relaxed and believable, with the unfortunate exception of Sapphire Boyce’s ‘Kellyanne’, who comes off as a tad wooden and her character more than a bit manipulative, which would be forgivable were it not for Christian Byer’s deft portrayal of ‘Ashmol’.

Direction, cinematography and screenwriting are all pedestrian at best, and with a title like ‘Opal Dream’, you might imagine a more colorful palette, but the dusty grey Australian outback proves to be more difficult to film than its source novella would suggest.

Recommended for families who find themselves weary of Hollywood’s by-the-numbers filmmaking and would like to see something a little different.