Stanley (James Rolleston) attends drama school where acting instructor Hanna (Kerry Fox) coaches him along with other students. He begins a romance with a younger student, Isolde (Ella Edward) who's 15-year-old sister who catches her 15-year-old sister, Victoria (Rachel Roberts), having sex with her tennis coach, George (Erroll Shand). The coach's sex scandal becomes the subject matter of a theater peacethat Stanley and his classmates rehearse for in school.

      The Rehearsal's premise sounds like it could be intriguing, and it is for the most part, but it doesn't go deep enough into its dark themes that gradually rise to the surface. It's interesting how the drama class that Stanley attends intertwines with life outside of school. As the saying goes, art imitates life sometimes while other times life imitates art. Hanna helps Stanley and other students to look within themselves to find the emotional truths of their roles along with more kernels of wisdom that help them to be better actors. Stanley goes through an innate conflict when he starts an affair with Isolde. The sex scandal and theater piece about that scandal complicate matters for him as he's unsure of what choices to make.

      Writer/director Alison Maclean and co-writer Emily Perkins let scenes unfold in a loose, organic way that might not hook you right from the get-go, but give it some time for the narrative strands to cohere. Unfortunately, by the end of the film, you wish you had known more about Stanley and some of the other underdeveloped characters. The contrived, anticlimactic third act is where the film a rather steep nose dive, but it doesn't crash. At least the scenes preceding it feel mildly engaging enough to keep you somewhat immersed in the story, while the performances, especially by the charismatic, underrated Kerry Fox, rise above the material.