Australian TV viewers seem to have a big appetite for semi-fictional gangster stories Underbelly 1,2 & 3 for example, but this grim story lacks the contrived glamour of its TV counterparts. From the first voice-over it is clear this is going to be a cautionary tale ("they all get caught in the end"). "Loosely" based on the Walsh St, Melbourne, police murders case of 1988, the focus is on Josh (James Frecheville), a younger member of a family of career criminals specializing in armed robbery who as the movie opens has not yet turned to a life of crime. After his mother dies from a heroin overdose he his taken in by his grandmother Cody (Jackie Weaver) who presides over a household of bank robbers and drug dealers. Things hot up after corrupt police execute on of their associates in a shopping centre car park and the gang retaliates by killing at random a couple of patrolling police the next day.
Enter Guy Pearce (with silly moustache) in the unlikely role of an honest cop, anxious to prevent Josh going the way of his uncles Pope (a psychopathic Ben Mendelsohn), Craig (a drug-addled Sullivan Stapleton) and Darren (Luke Ford), a general purpose gangster who just does what he is told.
This is a finely told but in the end a rather depressing tale. Even so I enjoyed Jackie Weaver's tough evil old granny and Ben Mendelsohn's tough nasty criminal. For these people even family members are expendable – you can see why Josh's druggie mother was anxious to keep him away from the rest of the family. The corrupt police are too close to home to be amusing, I am afraid, but their banality is well displayed.
The dynamics of the Cody household reminded me of another grim but well-realised crime story of a family of killers "The Boys". Some characters would, given other circumstances would not behave so badly but for the presence of one or two really bad guys. Here, Mum loves then warts and all, a strange commentary on the noble ideal of unconditional love. The main performances are very solid but Ben Mendelsohn and Jackie Weaver are quite outstanding. The gloomy settings heighten the atmosphere of a group of people caught up by their villainy. Like the man said, a cautionary tale.
Enter Guy Pearce (with silly moustache) in the unlikely role of an honest cop, anxious to prevent Josh going the way of his uncles Pope (a psychopathic Ben Mendelsohn), Craig (a drug-addled Sullivan Stapleton) and Darren (Luke Ford), a general purpose gangster who just does what he is told.
This is a finely told but in the end a rather depressing tale. Even so I enjoyed Jackie Weaver's tough evil old granny and Ben Mendelsohn's tough nasty criminal. For these people even family members are expendable – you can see why Josh's druggie mother was anxious to keep him away from the rest of the family. The corrupt police are too close to home to be amusing, I am afraid, but their banality is well displayed.
The dynamics of the Cody household reminded me of another grim but well-realised crime story of a family of killers "The Boys". Some characters would, given other circumstances would not behave so badly but for the presence of one or two really bad guys. Here, Mum loves then warts and all, a strange commentary on the noble ideal of unconditional love. The main performances are very solid but Ben Mendelsohn and Jackie Weaver are quite outstanding. The gloomy settings heighten the atmosphere of a group of people caught up by their villainy. Like the man said, a cautionary tale.