Russell Dykstra

On any single day, Cleaver Greene is described as many things: to jurors he is hilarious, but to must judges he is an outrage. To the tax office, he is a defendant; to a certain brothel owner, a legend; and to his former cocaine dealer, a tragic loss. His favorite clients are those that appear to be hopelessly guilty. Despite his faults, Greene's wit and charm have won him hordes of female admirers over the years.

Australian criminal barrister Cleaver Greene is on a constant search for higher highs and faster rushes, while attracting dangerous female liaisons and sworn enemies.

Cleaver languishes in jail, facing the consequences of his crimes and misbehaviors, while he awaits the outcome of his appeal. When the conviction is quashed at last, he discovers his world has grown even more chaotic in his absence. The proliferation of Royal Commissions, inquiries and corruption trials requires so many barristers, even Cleaver can find work. Of course, Cleaver being Cleaver, he finds himself at the heart of a billion dollar criminal,...

Lantana: a noxious and troublesome weed with dense and spiky undergrowth, sometimes cultivated for its colorful, aromatic flowers (film website). Like the plant, this film is a thicket: lovely and sweet smelling on its surface, dense and thorny beneath. In Lantana, a quartet of married couples from different strata of urban Australian life--wealthy Valerie and John, the middle-class Zats, working-class Jane and her estranged husband Pete, and struggling,...