The Turning is a portmanteau movie adapted from a short story collection by prizewinning Australian author Tim Winton; in its complete form for Australian release, this originally ran for three hours, but is now cut down to a smaller selection for the UK. Each short film has a different director and production team, some with actors such as Mia Wasikowska making their directorial debut.

The whole thing is, therefore, variable, but even at the level of the individual short film it looks disconcertingly unfinished and unformed, each piece seeming like a sketch for something bigger. The films themselves mostly show an alienated and anxious Australia, both indigenous and white, dealing with loneliness, abuse and alcoholism. For me, the most successful are the final three: Long, Clear View by Wasikowska, Boner McPharlin’s Moll by Justin Kurzel and Big World by Warwick Thornton – each breaks the show-don’t-tell rule by having some kind of narrative voiceover. Adapting Winton for the screen is a worthwhile creative project, but this truncated collection doesn’t come together.