Smash Palace (1981) review

Former racecar driver Al Shaw (Bruno Lawrence) lives in a desolate part of New Zealand with his wife Jacqui (Anna Jemison) and young daughter Georgie (Greer Robson) where he works at his late father's junk car lot, except Jacqui feels emotionally neglected by him so she leaves, starts a relationship with his pal (and police officer) Ray (Keith Aberdein) and then refuses to let him see Georgie again, which sends him over the edge.  This early feature by Donaldson (his third) comes across like a slightly muted soap opera with several rather unpleasant individuals: Al is a manchild who brushes off his wife's concerns (although he doesn't cheat on her and seems to be a good father), Jacqui is snooty and cold and Ray shows no honor among friends ... which means Georgie is the sole redeemable character in there and her innocence is used for easy pity points.  The last act becomes ridiculous, too, albeit in a riveting manner: Al is whipped by the cops, kidnaps Georgie, stages a crash and then there's an ugly stand-off with the authorities.  But imagine how miserable you have to be in a marriage to actually want to work as a schoolteacher ... now that's a crack up.