Storm Boy review: Much to love about 2019 remake of classic Australian story

The original Storm Boy has a special place in the heart of South Australians – but the much-anticipated remake also deserves a place.

The new Storm Boy has a lot to live up to. The original 1976 feature – starring Greg Rowe, David Gulpilil, Peter Cummins and last, but definitely not least, Mr Percival – was a rite of passage for Australians born in that era and beyond.

And, filmed in the Coorong, it has an extra special place in the heart of South Australians.

Directed by Shawn Seet, the much-anticipated remake also deserves a place.

In this reimagined tale of Colin Thiele’s classic novella, Rowe’s character Mike Kingley (Storm Boy) has grown up into a successful retired businessman Michael played admirably by Geoffrey Rush.

Geoffrey Rush stars as the older Michael Kingley in the new Storm Boy movie.

Like Rush, Michael is a brilliant storyteller. Haunted by visions from his past, he recounts his childhood bond with an orphaned pelican Mr Percival – “the best friend I ever had” – to his granddaughter Maddie played by Morgana Davies who gives a robust performance as the headstrong teen.

Even more impressive is cherub-faced Finn Little as the young Michael, who, like Rowe, is a natural in the role.

Trevor Jamieson is Fingerbone Bill, the character immortalised by Gulpilil in the original.

Gulpilil returns as his father and attended the Australian premiere in Adelaide.

Trevor Jamieson (Fingerbone Bill) with Finn Little (young Michael Kingley). Picture: Matt Nettheim

It’s a tough act to follow and the on-screen magic between the young Storm Boy and Bill isn’t quite there as much as in the original, but perhaps that’s partly because Bill has a lesser role this time around.

Box office drawcard Jai Courtney, meanwhile, doesn’t quite gel as world-weary widower Hideaway Tom.

While adult Michael’s world might modernise Storm Boy it is at times overdramatic and overcomplicated, highlighting the subtle beauty of the core story and the original film.

Jai Courtney as Hideaway Tom, Finn Little as Michael Kingley and Mr Percival the pelican.

Technology means the Coorong and the Murray mouth could be captured for the cinema as never before, but the environment was more of a force in the 1976 version. It was like a character echoing both the melancholic existence and new life.

But there is much to love about this new film, which has important messages – about the environment, renewal and redemption – for young and old.

Both original and remake were filmed on the Coorong.

Aided by an evocative and emotive score performed by our own Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, it has all the feels, tugging at the heart strings – especially if you have fond memories of Rowe and Mr Percival.

It’s perhaps unfair to compare it to the original, because on its own it stands out.

But it will, no doubt, also introduce a new generation to the wonderful original – and that can only be a good thing.

Four stars