Wow, this is one brutally harsh “western.” It’s kinda unique in the fact that it’s an Australian western. And it’s one that’s actually set in Australia in the 1800’s. If you wanna talk about an unforgiving environment, look no further than what’s portrayed in this film. Filmed on location, it’s impossible to not notice all the little details you get by doing so, such as people constantly covered in insects. The production for the film is spot-on, full of harsh cinematography and methodical pacing. The script is well layered and beautifully structured. The cast is excellent from top to bottom. There are very few absolutes and black and white situations, as the plot is full of gray area situations and characters. Good people making poor decisions for the right reasons, evil people making good choices for the wrong reason, and so on. Guy Pearce is outstanding in his lead role. Ray Winstone is brilliant in a brutally conflicted character (with an award-worthy performance). Emily Watson is wonderful, particularly in an emotional scene which is unusually (and brilliantly) shot from the reverse. Then there’s Danny Huston, who is flawlessly channelling the likes of Charles Manson with amazing success. All in all, this movie is an engrosing, brutal experience of a film. It’s one of those kinds of movie that reaches such levels that it can almost only come out of Australia. It’s worth noting that this film is written by Nick Cave. Yes, that Nick Cave.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 6th, 2006 at 9:54 pm and is filed under Movie Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.