Film Review: Face to Face

Face to Face. Rated MA15+ (strong coarse language). 88 minutes. Written and directed by Michael Rymer. Based on the play by David Williamson.

Nothing, it would seem, can fuel a debate amongst the literarti like mentioning David Williamson. Punctured with indignation, envy and arch, sweeping generalisations about the value of his creative contribution to Australian Theatre (which is not only important, but vast) – Williamson is most-often derided for bringing characters who inhabit the great, formative Australian middle-class to Australian stages. Quelle horreur!

In his perfectly-structured play on which Mr Rymer’s equally rock-solid screenplay is based, Williamson has mined the gloriously rich territory of conflict resolution. And if Williamson has mined it, then Rymer has excavated it – respectfully acknowledging the inherent security of the story’s stagebound origin (it mostly takes place in one room) while also using – to great effect – flashbacks to the chain of events that has brought everyone to this critical junction in their lives.

Wayne Travers (Luke Ford) is facing the grim prospect of going to jail for what appears to be a pre-meditated act of life-threatening violence against his boss Greg Baldoni (Vince Colosimo). When Jack Manning (Matthew Newton) convenes a mediation between the opposing parties, everyone involved is forced to confront the ugly truths about how they are each responsible for the potentially lethal meltdown of an enthusiastically naïve young worker.

It’s not often that one comments on the casting of a film – but in the case of Face to Face, Greg Apps and Loretta Crawford have absolutely nailed it. This is an extraordinary ensemble of very fine Australian talent – and the film works as well as it does because the cast are utterly committed to every finite detail of the work.

Mr Ford (Animal Kingdom, The Black Balloon, Kokoda, Red Dog) is brilliant as the tortured young labourer, and the camera simply cannot get enough of his cracked-lipped, dribbling, snotty meltdown. If Ford’s is one of the must-see performances of the year so far, Mr Colosimo is on equal footing as the owner/operator of the Baldoni scaffolding and construction company. As his small business, his marriage and his very existence are slowly and systematically disassembled right before his eyes, Colosimo’s marvellously under-stated performance is a masterclass in acting for the camera. His restlessness and awkward self-deprecation are wonderful counterpoints to the extent to which Sigrid Thornton literally unravels as his dutiful wife Claire. In one of the film’s many illuminating moments of contemplation of the toxic consequences of a heartless workplace prank, Ms Thornton holds the screen with a supreme wordless presence and intention. It is one of an almost embarrassing number of great moments.

The real surprise, however, are the (perhaps arguably) lesser-known actors (Robert Rabiah, Ra Chapman, Lauren Clair, Christopher Connelly, Laura Gordon, Josh Saks and Richard Sutherland) who constantly reinforce the fact that the performances in this film are nothing less than a tour de force. Each of them has their moments in the spotlight and account for them magnificently.

Given the luxury of riches in the acting stakes, it might be argued that all Mr Rymer (Angel Baby) and his cinematographer Dennys Ilic had to do was turn on the camera and point it in the right direction. But if point of view is everything in telling stories on the screen, Rymer is always in precisely the right place at the right time, with a dazzling array of single-room-defying shots that capture every detail of the performances. The constantly churning relationships between the key players is superbly maintained, captured and expressed, and Rymer’s outstanding work behind the camera is beautifully matched by Mr Newton’s calm, curious and masterful control of the proceedings in front of it.

It is proving to be a watershed year for Australian cinema – and Face to Face is a powerful, involving, and very welcome addition to the fold.

Pictured: Sigrid Thornton and Vince Colosimo in Face to Face. Image supplied.

Face to Face screens nationally from tomorrow.

Film Review: Red Dog

Red Dog. Rated PG (mild themes, coarse language and sexual references). 92 minutes. Directed by Kriv Stenders. Screenplay by Daniel Taplitz. Based on the novel by Louis de Bernières.

The feelings upon leaving the cinema after seeing this fantastic Australian film are countless. You’ll probably be feverishly wiping away the tears and forcing out uncontrollable laughter. That will be when you are not wondering why on earth it took someone so long to bring this story to the screen – before, at some point, breathing in deeply and remarking how they just don’t make films like this anymore. Because – put simply – they don’t.

Almost drowned in the film distribution cycle of slap-down, international blockbusters, Red Dog is a quintessentially Australian film. The Pilbara-based locations – Dampier, Karratha, Mount Tom Price and beyond – all star in this great yarn about a lovable red kelpie (played to heart-melting perfection by Koko) whose particular brand of loyalty to his one true master brings the disparate, hard-working folk of a remote mining community together.

Stenders elicits fine performances from his cast (which includes John Batchelor, Noah Taylor, Rachael Taylor, the late Bill Hunter, Josh Lucas and Luke Ford), while Taplitz’s flashback-based screenplay neatly incorporates the ambitions and aspirations of the people who work for Hamersley Iron as they recall how Red Dog came into their lives. Rohan Nichol is particularly impressive as the grieving ‘Jocko’ – and it is impossible to deny the impact of his Great Australian Dream speech in the local pub.

Cinematographer Geoffrey Hall (Dirty Deeds, Chopper) and editor Jill Bilcock (Strictly Ballroom, Muriel's Wedding) are obviously right at home in this territory – although my only minor disappointment was that we didn’t get to linger a little longer in some of the mighty locations. Ian Gracie’s (Art Director for X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Australia, Moulin Rouge!) production design showcases the 1970s to perfection – providing the film with a memorable and distinctive Australian charm that is difficult to resist.

But dog-lovers be warned. No feats of ordinary human resistance will be possible.

This review was commissioned by the Geraldton Newspaper Group.

Film Review: Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom. 113 minutes. MA15+. Written and Directed by David Michôd.

When David Michôd’s debut feature Animal Kingdom was catapulted into the international spotlight by winning one of the Sundance Film Festival’s prestigious Grand Jury Prizes, the anticipation accompanying its release in Australia became intense. Here was an Australian film from an unknown writer and director that had taken the film world entirely by surprise. Absent were the big name drawcards, the massive production and marketing budgets, and the almost pre-requisite tourism tie-ins.

Michôd’s near-perfect film is an astonishingly accomplished debut – nurtured by, one suspects, devoted and complete attention to every creative detail by Producer Liz Watts (Little Fish). Brave producers are rare beasts, and they can make or break a film’s chances of escaping anonymity. The intensive script development process to which Michôd’s script has been subjected, has paid rich dividends. It’s the most engrossing piece of writing for the camera in recent memory – and the creative team, including Art Director Janie Parker (Somersault, Little Fish) and Production Designer Josephine Ford (My Brother Jack) have responded to its lean, purely cinematic muscle with absolute relish and conviction.

The allegorical ‘animals’ of the title are the Cody family, led with chilling efficiency by matriarch Janine (Jacki Weaver, in a career-defining performance). When her daughter dies from a drug overdose leaving her teenage son Joshua (James Frecheville, pictured) orpahaned, Janine takes responsibility for the boy’s future. What he will learn – and quickly – about life as the youngest member of a criminal family, results in a story of extreme levels of constant and increasingly unbearable anxiety and fear.

Everything about Michôd’s direction and cinematographer Adam Arkapaw’s photography is measured, considered and necessary, while editor Luke Doolan ensures the deceptively languorous pace – reminiscent of a recurring nightmare – renders the story both relentlessly and utterly compelling. Antony Partos’s score and Sam Petty’s sound design combine perfectly to create a soundscape of such soul-tearing complicity with the material that, at times, it was just impossible to hold back the tears.

The entire cast are outstanding and never put a foot wrong – with Ben Mendelsohn, Luke Ford, Guy Pearce, Joel Edgerton and Sullivan Stapleton all delivering career-best performances. But Frecheville – whose stunning turn as the cub of the pride – is a revelation. His scene, alone, in a suburban bathroom will break your heart.

Stripped of all the crime genre’s recently attendant glamour and neon, Animal Kingdom owes more to The Godfather than it does to Underbelly – but if you aspired to live the life that this family lives, regardless of what trimmings and advantages you might think came with the territory, you’d have to be seriously fooling yourself. This is an unmissable, landmark Australian film. See it.

This review was commissioned by the Geraldton Newspapers Group and was published in the print edition (Wednesday 16 June, 2010) of the Geraldton Guardian.