George Miller: Ranking His Movies From Worst To Best

8. Lorenzo's Oil (1992)

Lorenzo's Oil is probably the least known of all George Miller's movies. Not exactly surprising, really, given that it's a drama starring Nick Nolte and Susan Sarandon, based on the true story of "two parents in a relentless search for a cure for their son Lorenzo's adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD)." A long way from Mad Max territory, wouldn't you say? Lorenzo's Oil was nominated for two Academy Awards in 1993, and given the subject matter, it's clear that this film was supposed to win a bunch of Oscars. All these years later, though, and the melodrama feels like too much - and it is melodrama, mind you; the performances here are about as self-consciously affected as cinematically possible. Which presumably goes a way to explaining why Lorenzo's Oil, for all its merits and good intentions, has faded into obscurity. At the time, it probably felt especially powerful and relevant - nowadays this film feels like something akin to a TV movie; schmalzy and overwrought, with occasional flashes of Miller's technical genius for good measure. Also: Nick Nolte spends the length of this movie doing a terrible Italian accent. Like, the worst Italian accent ever. It's off-putting, to say the least.