Tim

Tim: Mel Gibson in an Australian Sleeper
One of Mel Gibson's earliest films, "Tim" has been overlooked by most Mel Gibson fans. Gibson plays a young, mentally challenged Australian in a romantic relationship with an older, American business executive (Piper Laurie). A youthful Mel Gibson shows his talent to create believable characters and make us forget he's acting.

The film examines the theme of star-crossed lovers in the context of age, mental capacity, and social acceptance. The emotional tide of Tim's family, his lover, and their peers pulls at our heart-strings, and forces a sometimes uncomfortable self-examination of how we judge others and how we may define "love."

This movie is a great, romantic tear-jerker. The slower pace and gritty texture of early Australian cinema may deter some viewers, but the fresh story-line alone makes this movie well worth watching.

You'll like this movie if:
You liked Kevin Costner's "Message in a Bottle," and enjoyed Mel Gibson in "Man Without A...

Beautiful, Poignant
Having read the book, I can see why Gibson was chosen for the role. Tim is described as someone with features that would have inspired Praxiteles.-Classic and beautiful in Greek purportions. Despite the lack of blond hair that Colleen McCoullough ascribed her mentally diminished hero, Gibson gives him the vulnerabilty and nobility that McCoullogh describes. Piper Laurie is marvelous as Tim's employer, caretaker, and eventual love interest. The Australian landscape was gorgeous(it reminds me of Hawaii, where I lived as a child). But I was glad this film spares us the full descriptions of how Tim was treated by his co-workers. This is a very sensitive, well-thought piece, and I guess I can overlook many inconsistancies with the book and just enjoy the beauty of it.

TIM IS TOPS...
This is a gem of a film, starring the underrated Piper Laurie in the role of a well to do, but lonely, business woman, Mary Horton, who befriends a very nice, good looking day laborer, Tim Melville, earnestly played by a very young Mel Gibson. Tim happens to be a little simple. His family describes him as being "a few short of a full quid".

While he does work around her house, she gets to know him, as well as his working class family. As time goes on, a deep fondness that ripens into love develops between the two. He brings her out of her shell, and she teaches him to read and explains concepts that will enable him to function better in the world around him. Based upon Colleen McCollough's book of the same name, this is a very well acted film, with fine performances by the supporting cast, as well as the leads.

The quality of the DVD is bargain basement with no additional features. That is to be expected, as the price of this DVD is likewise bargain basement. One...

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