I enjoyed Jasper Jones especially the lead performances by Levi Miller as Charlie Bucktin , Aaron L McGrath as Jasper Jones ,Jeffrey Lu as Charlie's best mate and Toni Collette and Hugo Weaving but in my opinion it missed being a much better movie .

I must read the book hopefully it will answer the questions the movie leaves up in the air such as why Jasper goes to Charlie for help when he's never spoken to him previously? I may be wrong but I suspect readers of the book may be disappointed not in the actors but in the Production of this movie.

I think it needed a better Director and production crew. A few obvious gaffs were Charlie suddenly wearing a pair of sandals after climbing out of his window barefoot? and the cut on his face suddenly disappearing overnight, these are trivial things I know but points to bad editing and attention to details and this story deserved more. In summary very entertaining and enjoyable but a little frustrating and plot puzzling.

Based on Australian author Craig Silvey's beloved novel of the same name, this semi-successful and well-received Australian offering looks to capture the magic that was found in Silvey's paper version of this tale of death, love, racial tension and growing up in a small Australian town of the late 1960's but Rachel Perkins film lacks a certain spark that would've made Jasper Jones one of the year's must see local productions.

Perkins film certainly looks and sounds the part, thanks to quality contributions from acclaimed composer Antony Partos, DOP Mark Wareham and production designer Herbert Pinter but the heart and soul of the story of young boy Charlie Bucktin and his sudden friendship with aboriginal outcast Jasper Jones after the two get caught up in the death and cover up of local girl Laura Wishart never truly gels on the big screen thanks to some so-so performances and plodding editing.

Following on from his mediocre turn in Pan and so-so turn in fellow Australian big screen event Red Dog: True Blue, Australian actor Levi Miller has the tough task of bringing Charlie to life and the young performer who appears in almost every scene of Perkins film doesn't quite make it work to the levels the tale needed him to hit.

Supported impressively by newcomer Kevin Long as best friend Jeffrey Lu, Aboriginal actor Aaron L. McGrath as the titular Jones and These Final Hours and The Nice Guys breakout star Angourie Rice (once more stealing the show acting wise),Miller has failed to make his mark in 3 big lead turns now and whenever you see him alongside Rice or Australian staples like Toni Collette and Hugo Weaving (it's not an Aussie film without him) you realise that Miller's performances leave a lot to be desired.

The other problem with Jones is that its central mystery centring around just what happened to cause Laura's mysterious death is intriguing in a sense but once we are made aware of the answers to the questions we and the characters have, it feels like a bit of a letdown to what has been 90 minutes of build-up that includes detours into racial tensions and coming of age dramas.

Final Say –

Jasper Jones is a quality Australian production with clearly more money at its disposal than average local produce but despite a solid groundwork at its core, Perkins film feels like a bit of a non-event, even though a collection of commendable acting turns and a story that's journey is more intriguing initially than its destination make Jasper Jones far from the worst Australian made effort.

2 ½ game winning innings out of 5

This is a good drama. There are some mysteries that keep it interesting, however I wish it tied things up a little more with the subplots. It left too many things unanswered. I guess for us to make our own assumptions, but I like things more buttoned up.

Great acting from Toni Collette!