The new Australian romantic drama South Solitary is beautifully filmed, nicely acted. This is the first film from director Shirley Barrett in over a decade.

South Solitary is a claustrophobic tale of love, loneliness and desperation set in on a remote windswept island off the coast of Australia in 1927.

Wadsworth (Barry Otto) is a veteran of the lighthouse service who has been sent to the remote South Solitary lighthouse to bring the staff into order after several complaints have been lodged by passing ships. He is accompanied by his niece Meredith (Miranda Otto), an unmarried 35-year-old woman, who has never found a man in her life since her fiancé perished in WWI.

The family living on the island are initially resentful of their presence because they assumed that assistant lighthouse keeper Harry Stanley (Rohan Nichol) would be automatically promoted. However, the isolation soon begins to take its toll on the desperate, love-lorn Meredith and her demanding uncle.

Psychologically damaged World War One veteran Fleet (Marton Csokas) is another regular worker at the lighthouse, and he does not quickly warm to the pair either. And Meredith's affair with the womanizing Harry further complicates the dynamics of the small group.

The performances of the key cast are very good. This is the first time that Barry Otto and his Miranda Otto have appeared together on film since Dead Letter Office in 1998, and their dynamic adds to their relationship. Miranda is strong as the psychologically scarred and love-lorn Meredith. Csokas is good as the withdrawn Fleet who has his own emotional baggage to deal with.