As a director, Craig Lahiff impressed his cast with his laid-back approach and seemingly
endless patience. Actress Youki Kudoh remarked: "He's so gentle. I never saw him lose his
temper, which was amazing! He was always calm and took the time to explain exactly
what he was thinking, whilst still allowing me to express my ideas". Actor Robert Mammone
concurred: "He brings a sense of calmness that I haven't previously experienced. I don't
think I've ever seen anybody trust his actors so much, he really nurtured us". Cinematographer
Brian Breheny described Lahiff's approach as "a wonderful bedside manner...Craig's
not [a] confrontationalist, but he gets the shots he wants by letting things go and everyone
thinks, 'Oh, I've got my own way', but in fact they haven't, he has!".
One of the most compelling aspects of this film, according to its director Craig
Lahiff, was the idea of making a contemporary 'Tristan and Isolde'. He saw Colin [Russell Crowe] and
Midori [Yûki Kudô] as "two lost souls, fated to find each other". Lahiff's sentiment was echoed by
producer Helen Leake who added: "From a certain perspective it's a modern day 'Romeo and Juliet' in a
very unexpected and sometimes violent way. At its heart is the story of two people who
come together and in doing so step out of their normal lives."
When Japanese actress Youki Kudoh left Japan to commence work on this movie, there were
eight film crews at the airport to record her departure. Kudoh's immense popularity
aside, there was no question of her ability to inhabit the psyche of her character Midori.
Japanese actress Youki Kudoh found the contrast between Australia and Japan fascinating and was in no doubt
as to the dilemma her character faced. "Japan is so safe, you can walk your dog at
midnight. We have no bank robberies and murders rarely occur. For Midori to find
herself involved in a bank robbery would be inconceivable. That, coupled with the
betrayal by her ex-lover and the disgrace she would encounter in returning to Yukio, left
her with few alternatives. When Colin saves her life, she feels she has no choice but to
follow as, despite his hostility, there is no-one else. Initially her feelings for Colin are
tinged with desperation, but he attracts her because he is so different from traditional
Japanese men. She feels that he is amazing, dangerous and generous. She also
senses that his toughness is a facade".
When actor Russell Crowe first read the screenplay for this movie, he reached page forty-six and thought, "Damn, so much has happened and there's still another fifty pages to go". An
insightful actor with strong ideas, Crowe was mindful of the popular notion of a 'road
movie'. "Within this genre, the worst possible thing you can do is continually focus on
shots of a car", he remarked, "so the structure of this script with something new
happening and characters being introduced every couple of scenes was both exciting
and promising".