AustLit

Coming-of-age plots were common in the new Australian cinema of the 1970s and 1980s, including some of the most notable achievements, such as Picnic at Hanging Rock (Peter Weir, 1975), The Getting of Wisdom (Bruce Beresford, 1978), and The Devil's Playground (Fred Schepisi, 1976). What was less common was to find them informed by a cosmic spirit, which is what distinguishes The Big Steal. It is not that the film doesn't treat its young protagonist's seriously, as good comedy always does, but rather that there is a really engaging lightness of tone, which Jane Freebury recalls and captures in her essay. She also reminds us of the attractively idiosyncratic contribution the creative team of Nadia Tass and David Parker made of a couple of decades of Australian cinema. – Brian McFarlane