At its best, collaboration compounds collective strengths to produce wondrous results. More often – certainly in the case of an intrinsically collaborative art form like cinema – mediocrity is the outcome. In my experience, the great majority of movies, ‘mainstream’ or ‘arthouse’, are middling to crap, notwithstanding the mega bucks and effort invested in them.
Indeed, the movie-making process is so complex, with so many hands meddling in the mix, it’s a minor miracle when it all comes together – which it does, most assuredly, in the new Australian movie Animal Kingdom. Continue reading ‘Animal Kingdom’ – Movie Review→
This film is a cocktail of disparate influences. It’s a Brit-Australian production, the first feature movie directed by short film and music video director – and muso – Andrew Lancaster, based on the Connecticut childhood of Australian-based American dancer-and-choreographer-turned-screenwriter Brian Carbee, but filmed in the Sydney suburbs of West Pymble and St Ives, with one American star (Geena Davis) and an Aussie cast of mostly unknown actors feigning American accents! [pause for breath]
This is a movie of contrasts: the romanticism of lead character, Tom (Michael Dorman), who dreams of a life on the road as a truckie owner-driver, vs the gruelling reality; the openness and youthful optimism of ‘gypsy’ Melissa (Emily Barclay) vs the hard-bitten cynicism of her embittered mother; the basic decency of honest, hardworking truckie Phil (William McInnes) vs the vicious opportunism of fellow driver/drug-pusher/loan shark Johnnie (Ben Mendelsohn).
The narrative is built around these contrasts – a yin/yang battle, if you like. Gifted pin-striping artist Tom is a sensitive, creative soul who is torn between the two loves of his life – Melissa, and his prime mover. This curious ménage a trois proves unworkable. With Melissa stuck out in the middle of nowhere living in a caravan with their baby, and Tom on the road day and night taking speed to stay awake as he fights a losing battle to earn enough to keep up the killing interest payments on his beloved truck and ward off the circling loan shark, something has to give…
David Caesar states he’s been wanting to make this movie for a long time. Perplexing, then, that an experienced filmmaker of his calibre didn’t make better use of the extended gestation period. Continue reading ‘Prime Mover’ – Movie Review→