The film centers on Detective Leon Zat (Anthony LaPaglia), a man who at first appears callous and almost cruel, having an affair with a woman he barely knows, and ignoring the obvious needs of his wife, Sonja (Kerry Armstrong). Sonja is seeing a therapist, Dr. Valerie Somers (Barbara Hershey), and confesses the marriage now “feels like we’re going through the motions.” Dr. Somers has problems of her own with husband John Knox (Geoffrey Rush), the ten-years-past murder of their daughter still lurking as the centerpiece of their relationship.

      As the film progresses, LaPaglia’s transformative performance grows deeper and more true. We see Leon’s desperation to make sense of his life, reaching out tentatively for answers from everyone he comes into contact with, from his partner, Claudia (Leah Purcell), to suspects he is interrogating. His brief affair with Jane O’May (Rachael Blake), newly separated from her own husband, is another attempt to uncover his feelings. But Jane has baggage of her own, and the affair is a bust. We never quite find out why Jane’s marriage didn’t work out – oddly, her husband is something of a sympathetic character. On one hand Jane is ready to be free of restrictions, on the other hand she watches her neighbors’ loving and still passionate relationship with jealousy. Theirs is probably the only healthy relationship depicted through the film, but at one point it almost seems that Jane wants to damage it. Luckily for her neighbors and especially for Leon, Jane doesn’t follow through on any of these destructive instincts.

      Ironically, Sonja probably articulates Leon’s crisis best in a talk with Dr. Somers, when she is asked what she wants her marriage to be. “Passionate and challenging and honest,” she says, and she could be speaking for most of the characters in the film. When Dr. Somers later disappears mysteriously, the distraction of the investigation comes as a welcome relief for Leon from the burdens of his personal life. Leon’s investigation takes him to Dr. Somers’ husband, who he believes is responsible. John Knox may or may not be guilty of a crime, but he seems to feel himself guilty. His marriage had degenerated to the point where he tells Leon that the only thing left was the grief over their daughter’s death. The interaction changes Leon; he’s determined not to lose his wife this way.

      If all this sounds like an awfully dour plot, don’t be fooled. Bovell’s story adds levity at just the right moments, and it’s one of the greatest rewards of the film. With flawless direction by Ray Lawrence (Bliss), a possibly uncomfortable scene where Leon is sent to gather evidence from Jane is transformed into one of the funnier scenes in the film. The difficult network of connected characters is managed perfectly, never confusing the audience, the coincidences of association only adding to the comedy.

      The entire cast of characters are remarkably well-rounded. Just when they begin to fall into a category – the manipulative mistress, the boring housewife, the scheming murderer – they do or say something that shows us how wrong our perceptions were. Each character really is a good person in his or her own way, a multidimensionality rarely explored in mainstream films. What we finally take from Lantana is a desire to question our first impressions, and a realization of how hurtful they can be to ourselves and those around us if we act without digging deeper.

Jean Flynn Wyant, 2002