men have feelings too . men cry , despite the stigma attached to their gender , or at least they want to more than they let on . it's all societal conditioning . that's the pretentious premise of this never-ending , two-hour look at couple dysfunction . with a highly acclaimed cast that includes anthony lapaglia , barbara hershey , and geoffrey rush you would hope this idea would provide great material for such illustrious actors to sink their teeth into . unfortunately , having been adapted for the screen from a play , by the playwright himself , much of the emotional impact is lost in overwhelmingly dramatic dialogue . valerie ( hershey ) , married to john ( rush ) , is a therapist , and her patients' lives are starting to intrude on her own mental state . her daughter was horribly murdered two years before and her marriage has been stagnant ever since . she and john love each other but cannot connect . one of valerie's patients , patrick , is a homosexual who continually talks of an affair with a married man . slowly , valerie becomes convinced that the divide between she and john is larger than she thought , possibly as a result of patrick . then there's leon ( lapaglia ) a cop married to the beautiful and vibrant sonja ( kerry armstrong ) , who is secretly going to valerie for therapy . leon is having an affair with jane ( rachael blake ) , though he is still in love with his wife , as an attempt to feel something . jane herself is consistently lonely after separating from her husband and often spies on the family next door . these circles become claustrophobic because valerie suddenly disappears one evening . leon is put on the case as a detective and breaks off his affair with jane , but still can't get his life in order . these factors combine to create many a scene in which men are trying to express emotions and mistakes to one another , and fail miserably . to give the film some credit , it is able to portray masculine anxiety in reacting to a situation too much like a stereotypical woman would . the real problem is that during sympathetic moments , emotive speeches seem forced on all the characters that are uttering them . while the acting is basically impeccable , the conversations are unreal and difficult to accept , even at their most dramatic climaxes . it doesn't help that , when these men are trying to talk to one another , there is repetitive whining about how men aren't suppose to cry or show emotion . still , what keeps things interesting is that every person involved is heavily flawed . they lie and cheat and find it difficult to learn from their mistakes . there's always hope , in a new scene filled with tension , that some kind of new barrier will be breached , that some catharsis will come through . the plot is hazy enough , as are its characters , that any growth or change is unpredictable . to see the little details that spring from the characters' effects on each other rings true enough . what also works are the dysfunctional marriage scenes between husband and wife . communication comes through looks and stares instead of accusatory speeches . the annoying chatter present when it's two movie-character men talking is thankfully left out . lantana's strengths and weaknesses , like its characters , balance each other out . not a flaw can be found in how it articulates difficulty within a marriage . if only it would stop complaining about how men are raised . 
