The Butterfly Tree

When burlesque-performer-turned-florist Evelyn (Melissa George) arrives in an Australian town, she beguiles 13-year-old Fin (Ed Oxenbould, excellent as a troubled youngster) and his teacher father, Al (Ewen Leslie). Father and son are struggling to cope with the loss of Fin’s mother and quick to warm to Evelyn’s charms. Writer/director Priscilla Cameron’s film is rich with atmosphere and idealism, and Melissa George is charismatic as a romanticised woman who cannot live up to the expectations of men, but who represents the hope of finding a way out of sadness.