BACK OF BEYOND

REVIEWED - GONE:The film works as an efficient genre exercise, wisely allowing its fuse to burn slowly, writes Michael Dwyer.

BACKPACKERS who get out to the movies when they're not on the road will have been alerted to the dangers that may lie ahead from seeing The Beach or Hostel. Not so, apparently, in the case of Alex and Sophie, the loving young English couple who head for the Australian outback with open-eyed enthusiasm in Gone.

Arriving in Sydney before linking up with Sophie (Amelia Warner), Alex (Shaun Evans) makes several mistakes. He gets drunk, sleeps with another woman, and befriends young US tourist Taylor (Scott Mechlowicz). Although Taylor is friendly and chatty, the film sends up signals that he has a volatile personality and is adept at manipulating people and engineering situations he can exploit.

Gone, which was shot under the less bland and vague title Middle of Nowhere, doubles as a road movie and psychological thriller when Alex, Sophie and Taylor drive up the east coast towards North Queensland. Their journey takes them through remote, mostly uninhabited landscapes strikingly captured by cinematographer Ben Seresin. As Taylor plays more devious mind games with the couple, the unfamiliar environment heightens their unease and sense of isolation, and the movie's natural backdrop enhances an atmosphere of foreboding and tension.

Formulaic as it is in outline, Gone works as an efficient genre exercise, wisely allowing its fuse to burn slowly under the confident direction of Ringan Ledwidge, on his feature film debut after several commercials. It relies heavily on its three young actors, who have the only significant roles in the film, and they respond impressively to the challenge.

Surprisingly, the credits list two costume designers for a movie in which the characters get through nothing more than a few T-shirts, jeans and shorts.