Tracks Review

They call her the ‘Camel Lady’ who, in 1977, was crazy enough to travel half way across Australia’s barren desert on foot just for the hell of it, with four camels and a faithful dog as her only companions. The trek, which spanned 1700 miles from Alice Springs to the west coast on the edge of the Indian Ocean, was practically a death wish for 27-year-old Robyn Davidson who had little previous experience in the wild despite two years of training feral camels. With but a radio and no other means of luxury, Davidson’s desire for solitude was a desperate measure for self-exploration. Having grown restless from the apathy of her generation and wanting to extend the limits of expectation, whenever she was faced with the question of why, she would simply answer “why not?” Her astonishing true story was first documented in an article for National Geographic and later in autobiographical long-form, bestselling book, Tracks.

Over the years, efforts have been made to adapt Tracks for the big screen with both Julia Roberts and Nicole Kidman being attached to the lead role. But until now, Davidson has been rather ambivalent towards having her personal story immortalised on film. With director John Curran at the helm, continually reminding us of the true spirit of adventure, it’s not too presumptuous to say her wait has been rewarded. The film is led by a stirring yet gentle performance by Mia Wasikowska whose likeness to Davidson is uncanny. It’s largely a one-woman show and she exquisitely infuses her character with a commendable balance of determination and anti-socialness. It’s no secret that the real Davidson was reluctant to seek sponsorship for her journey and was less than thrilled by the occasional presence of American photographer Rick Smolan, which she saw as an insensitive intrusion. Smolan, here amusingly incarnated by Girls star Adam Driver, is an eternally talkative and upbeat presence who rendezvous with Davidson at scattered points in her journey to take snapshots of her in her ‘element’. Initially she is resentful of his ‘perfectly nice’ company, but slowly warms to him and together they engage in an ‘on again, off again’ romance.

Wasikowska captures the sharp edges of Davidson’s brusque personality with ease. She is somewhat brittle in her dismissal of others and is hesitant to commit to anything but the unforgiving landscape that lies before her. Though she does her best to avoid excess companionship, she acknowledges the need for guidance from Aboriginal Elder Mr. Eddy (Roly Mintuma) who helps her bypass sacred sites. He elicits respect and punctures through her standoffishness to bring out a warm, otherwise unseen, spirit. Some viewers may become impatient with the unchanging environment and lack of melodrama but Wasikowska’s strength is unyielding. The dreaded possibility of failure, of going back on ones tracks, is what drives her forward. Not much else is given as to her underlying motivations, but the film does offer fragmented glimpses into her past with fleeting memories of grief surrounding her home life.

In many ways, Tracks is comparable to Chris McCandless' famed odyssey as imagined in Sean Penn's 2007 film Into the Wild. Discovering oneself by means of exile is a theme that runs through both stories. In a desperate search for adulthood and independence, both young adults remove themselves from materialism and conformity to engage with nature. Take Emile Hirsch’s Chris McCandless who was richly drawn, strong-willed and kindly. His upper middle class background and academic success were understandable instigators of his strong contempt for a conceited society. On the other hand, Robyn Davidson’s character isn’t quite as realized; her impulses remain vague, she isn’t as sympathetic and her walk scarcely sustains a feature length. She is undoubtedly an enigmatic heroine but her motivations are difficult to invest in. Once the camels are herded and the trek gets going, the narrative sinks distantly into the desert plains.

Its third act feels stretched and, at a total running time of 110 minutes, the film could have benefited from a tighter edit. That’s not to say the journey is a bore, for there is a lot to admire about the Australian Outback. Its painterly red dunes and sandy remote lands are expertly photographed with a fine eye for composition. Cinematographer Mandy Walker has beautifully brought to life a visual dreamscape that takes on an almost spiritual aura. Filmed in the South Australian deserts and in the Northern Territory, he revels in the details of dust, cracked skin and harsh terrain. As glorious as it is to look at, the camera indulges over these beautiful landscapes sometimes at the expense of the story particularly in the sluggish final quarter. Despite being longwinded, Davidson’s story is an extraordinary, unprecedented feat worthy of being told.

These days, with the advances of modern technology, exploration of even the most isolated areas is no longer such a lonely prospect. An element of risk has been lost since it is very hard to disappear under the radar with your IPhone or GPS in hand. Today at the age of 63, the traveller and author feels incredibly blessed to have ‘got in’ before the world became so ‘pathologically safe’. In a recent conversation with Fenella Kernebone for Art After Hours at The Art Gallery of NSW, Davidson was once again faced with the inevitable question of why she went on the journey in the first place. She said: “I’ve been trying to answer that question for thirty years and really I don’t think it has an answer”. Her inability to define her experience in terms of a solely specific purpose is perhaps why her story lives on today. Intrigued viewers and readers look to her passage to inspire and reflect upon their own independence and thirst for adventure.

Curran’s account provides as much insight into the ‘Camel Lady’ as possible without succumbing to fantasy or the usual tricks of manipulation. Pacing and scripting issues aside, he has presented a neatly packaged triumph; a character study wrapped up in a road movie. Technically, Tracks is excellent. And Davidson’s quest is certainly inspired.  Whether the emotion and humanity the film so keenly hopes to elicit shines through, is not so certain.