Blank Check with Griffin & David
Episode: Picnic at Hanging Rock (with Jane Schoenbrun)
Released: March 15, 2026
Guest: Jane Schoenbrun (director: I Saw the TV Glow, We're All Going to the World's Fair)
Main Theme & Purpose
This episode explores Peter Weir’s Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975), a foundational work in the Australian New Wave and widely regarded as a mystical, genre-defining film. The discussion traces Weir’s directorial style, the film’s lasting influence, its dreamlike mysterious qualities, and threads these with observations from director Jane Schoenbrun, known for her work with dream language in contemporary cinema. Notable parallels are drawn between Picnic at Hanging Rock, other auteurs, and emerging cultural mythologies, all while balancing the show’s signature mix of film history, personal anecdotes, and irreverent digressions.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. The Cultural & Cinematic Context of Picnic at Hanging Rock
[06:33–11:16]
- The film is hailed as “the great Australian movie,” acknowledged as a turning point for serious legitimacy in Australian cinema.
- It was the “art-house breakthrough” amidst a wave of Australian genre hits like Mad Max or Wake in Fright.
- “Weir kind of stands out as the guy who made the translation over to the studio system the best” (David, 13:15)
2. Peter Weir as Aesthetic Innovator
[11:59–12:47, 16:38–17:23]
- Weir’s versatility ("works in every genre") and the bifurcation of his career: early Australian films full of darkness, later Hollywood films leveraging that darkness in global stories.
- The film’s influence is broad: cited by creators like Damon Lindelof (The Leftovers, Lost) and Sofia Coppola.
- “The cultural tail of its influence on other major works is humongous.” (Griffin, 13:46)
3. The Film’s Dream Logic: Stylistic and Thematic Analysis
[17:28–22:57]
- Jane details her fascination with the film’s “oneiric” (dreamlike) cinematic language.
- Weir evokes the logic of silent-era and early sound dream-films, like Un Chien Andalou and Meshes of the Afternoon.
- The film’s premise is “so hooky” it attracts viewers expecting a whodunit; instead, it “leaves you with a completely different set of feelings.”
- “You do like…there’s no barrier to entry with this movie because like, oh, fuck, it’s a mystery. And then you watch it and you’re left with a completely different set of feelings than what you might have imagined.” (David, 16:44)
- Comparison with dream-logic films (L’Avventura, The Wicker Man, Malick’s work, even Memoria), highlighting the unknowability of the narrative.
- David: “There’s something…to watching this where you’re like, is this religious? Is this supernatural? Is it existential? Is it all that?” (David, 22:10)
4. Adaptation Process & Joan Lindsay’s Mystique
[30:12–36:27]
- Joan Lindsay, the novel’s author, was considered a mystic; wrote the book in a possession-like 10-day stretch after a vivid dream at Hanging Rock.
- Purposefully leaves the question of fact or fiction open—mirroring Fargo’s notorious “this is a true story” gambit.
- Weir loved the open-endedness; he was specifically drawn to the lack of resolution in both the book and movie.
- Anecdote: “He was told going into the meeting…the only thing we forbid you from doing is asking her if it’s real. And she said, ‘I really don’t want to discuss that. Please don’t ask again.’” (Griffin, 35:02)
- Lindsay did confirm to Weir that she knew the ‘truth’ behind the mystery but would never reveal it.
5. The Film’s Approach to Narrative, Atmosphere, and Gender
[41:41–50:12, 72:51–76:14]
- The film sells a strong, immersive 30-minute spell at the start with lush, impressionistic scenes, then “peaks” and shifts into a languorous, melancholic mood.
- Discussion of gender and sexuality: the intoxicating, pent-up energy of young women at a boarding school, and male spectatorship.
- “This movie is tapping into…the unspeakable tension of sexual danger for young women in society.” (Griffin, 73:00)
- “Her screaming is so upsetting…like Grace Zabriskie screaming in Twin Peaks…It snaps you out of the reverie.” (David, 42:30)
- The non-literal/surreal approach allows the film to avoid exploitation or punishment narratives common in genre films with female leads.
- “It’s mercifully non-literalized…non-judgmental in a way that now feels like faint praise, but in the 70s, this was not a thing anyone was fucking doing.” (Griffin, 82:09)
6. Production Anecdotes & Technical Innovations
[53:14–54:43, 66:01–67:47]
- Weir cast girls for “look and energy,” dubbing lines later if necessary.
- The film's painterly visuals achieved using fabric over the lens, shooting with mixed frame rates (32 and 24 fps) to create uncanny movement.
- “Can I shoot you a little faster? Don't blink. And then we'll mix it…it'll just feel odd.” (David, 66:52)
- Rachel Roberts’s intense process as Mrs. Appleyard—her insistence on a unique wig, reputation for on-set antics, and tragic life story—both unsettled and enriched the production.
7. The Theme of Colonial Tension & "Australia-ness"
[68:02–71:50]
- The school’s attempt to recreate Englishness in a wild, untamable landscape doubles as societal allegory.
- “A society that is not giving these women any outlet to ever express any emotions or autonomy…the world of this movie is very small... death is kind of the only way out.” (Griffin, 132:24)
8. Broader Cultural Impact and Analogies
[58:52–59:59, 130:10–130:46]
- The vibe and energy on set compared to that of Virgin Suicides (heavily influenced by Hanging Rock), Twin Peaks, and even filmmaking as group-ritual time travel.
- Pan flute music’s enduring power as a motif—both a period detail and flex on vibe.
9. Non-linear Storytelling, Unsolvable Mysteries, and Open Endings
[125:02–130:46]
- The film never “solves” the disappearances; instead, it swims in the aftermath and psychological effects—repressing, externalizing, and sublimating trauma, melancholy, and social structure.
- “This is a movie about a society that is not giving these women any outlet… what is like, motivating them to go to that rock is like being horned up. But it's also this feeling of… are we just stuck on this conveyor belt for the rest of our fucking lives?” (Griffin, 132:24)
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
On the film’s hook and aftermath:
“You do like…there’s no barrier to entry with this movie because…It’s a mystery. And then you watch it and you’re left with a completely different set of feelings than what you might have imagined…”
— David, [16:44]
On the adaptation’s refusal to provide answers:
“There's no answer!”
“That’s the whole reason he wanted to make the movie.”
— Weir/Griffin, [17:21]
On atmosphere and emotional logic:
“If 1% of movies were 1% as good as L’Atalante every year, we would be living in a perpetual golden age of cinema.”
— Griffin, paraphrasing his film teacher, [23:36]
On the sexual tension and gender:
“This movie is tapping into…the unspeakable tension of sexual danger for young women in society.”
— Griffin, [73:00]
On colonial tension:
“It’s like here's second generation colonizers trying to be like, we got our boots on the ground, now let’s start building Britain II…And this is a movie that's literally about… the Earth attacking them.”
— Griffin, [68:56]
On performance, ritual, and pan flute music:
“At this point, my main YouTube algorithm suggestion is…it’s just 10 hours of that pan flute music.”
— Jane, [89:57]
On making films as portal/liminal ritual:
“We talked about portals a lot on this new movie. It's just like we're going through a portal. We're on the other side of the portal now. Everyone is so sleep deprived and also like in a manic state of something that like, people are ready to buy into that.”
— Jane, [59:04]
Timestamps for Important Subjects
- 00:37–01:47: Cold open—Saint Valentine’s facts and cultural digressions
- 06:33: Start of in-depth Peter Weir / Australian cinema discussion
- 13:15: Comparison to Nicholas Roeg and Australian New Wave peers
- 17:23: Jane Schoenbrun’s entry and “dream film” syllabus
- 22:10: Analysis of the film’s ambiguity—religious, existential, supernatural?
- 30:12: Origins of the novel and Joan Lindsay’s mysticism
- 41:41: Building the “first 30 minutes spell”; production anecdotes
- 53:14: Casting, production process, unique visual techniques
- 66:01: Cinematographic tricks—frame rates, fabric filters, etc.
- 68:02: “Australia-ness” and colonial legacy in the narrative
- 72:51: Sex, repression, and comparison to Twin Peaks and Virgin Suicides
- 82:02: Film’s gender politics; merciful lack of moralizing
- 125:02: The ambiguous fate of the girls; last act disintegration
- 132:24: Griffin’s personal reading on repression, escape, and the world’s claustrophobia
Flow Highlights & Notable Digressions
- The episode is rich in playful asides: Trolls World Tour’s pandemic legacy, modern TV, pan flute discourse, and the strange lineage from Picnic at Hanging Rock to Twin Peaks to Virgin Suicides.
- Jane details her infamous Sully Sullenberger Tumblr and the art of aura farming (“Watto is absolutely serving”).
- Balance of high-brow film criticism and affectionate, pop-culture tangents: Firefly, X-Files, analogies to current streaming trends and lost TV rituals.
Conclusion
This episode captures Picnic at Hanging Rock’s elusive magic, underlining its pivotal role in international film language while connecting it to contemporary thoughts on gender, myth, and psychological resonance. With Jane Schoenbrun’s insights, the conversation brings the film’s dream logic to life for new viewers and longtime cinephiles alike, ensuring the conversation is as atmospheric and memorable as the film itself.
Essential Takeaway:
Picnic at Hanging Rock is less about solving a mystery and more about lingering in the spell of the unknown—a supernatural, feminist, and cinematic exploration that suspends both its characters and its viewers in the heat-haze of the Australian outback and the unarticulable fantasies and terrors of adolescence.
Next Week:
The Last Wave with BenDavid Grabinski.
(Tune in for more Australian New Wave...)