Blanchett plays Tracy Heart, 32, a reformed drug addict who lives in Sydney's Little Saigon district with her mother, Janelle (Noni Hazlehurst), who keeps her daughter on a tight rein. Tracy has a job as a videostore manager but wants to open her own business if she can get a bank loan.

Tracy is on good terms with her estranged stepfather, Lionel Dawson (Hugo Weaving), a junkie and former sports hero. While Tracy is visiting Lionel one night, crime boss (and Lionel's occasional lover) Brad "The Jockey" Thompson (Sam Neill) comes by to drop off some heroin for Lionel and also to announce his own retirement.

Noting Lionel's return to active addiction, Tracy decides to give her stepdad a wider berth. But other reminders of her druggie past surface in the form of her former dealer/b.f., Jonny (Dustin Nguyen).

After five years away in Vancouver, Jonny claims to have a career as a stockbroker and Tracy finds she still has feelings for him. However, unbeknownst to her, Jonny is planning a "one-time" score and has recruited Tracy's disabled brother, Ray (Martin Henderson), into his scheme.

Though the film's pacing is somewhat over-deliberate, script by Aussie TV writer Jacquelin Perske is dense with subplots and always holds the attention. Some narrative ellipses seem designed to tease viewers' suspicions, but may baffle some.

Nonetheless, Woods' direction is tightly controlled, with Danny Ruhlmann's camera restlessly observing the characters. Slow-burning narrative gets a boost in the tense climax, where most of the plot threads cleverly intersect.

Blanchett is superlative as Tracy, an older, sadder, wiser version of the visiting "cousin" in her segment of Jim Jarmusch's "Coffee and Cigarettes." Supporting perfs are very strong.

Kiwi actor Henderson is a revelation as Ray, and both Hazlehurst and Neill quickly sketch credible personalities as Tracy's mom and Brad. However, it's Weaving who almost steals the film with his sensational portrait of Lionel.

Only false note is Nguyen's Jonny, whose accent unnecessarily and distractingly seems to float between various continents.
 
Camera (color), Danny Ruhlmann; editors, Alexandre De Franceschi, John Scott; music, Nathan Larson; production designer, Luigi Pittorino; costume designer, Melinda Doring; sound (Dolby Digital), Sam Petty; casting, Ann Robinson, Mullinars Consultants. Reviewed at Hoyts Director's Suite, Sydney, July 4, 2005. (In Melbourne Film Festival -- opener. Also in Toronto Film Festival -- Special Presentations.) Running time: 113 MIN.
(English, Vietnamese dialogue)