AustLit

'A reunion of old friends in which past quarrels and betrayals bubble to the surface is the premise of Palm Beach, the second film directed by Rachel Ward after the provocative and immensely impressive Beautiful Kate 10years ago. Both films deal with unresolved events that took place years earlier and which still cause bitterness and resentments. In both, Bryan Brown plays the patriarch, a strong, powerful presence. Otherwise, the two films could hardly be more different. Whereas Kate explored an incestuous relationship that split a family apart, the dynamics of Palm Beach are far less abrasive and the film plays out, for the most part, as a comedy.' (Introduction)