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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 31 July 2011

Hands up if you’ve been the town of Dampier?  It’s located on the north-west coast of Australia and has a population of just over 1,000 people.  At the entrance into the town, you’ll find a bronze statue of the kelpie known to everyone in the community as “Red Dog”.  The plaque reads “The Pilbara Wanderer died Nov 21^st 1979. Erected by the many friends made during his travels.”

Acclaimed British author Louis de Bernières (Captain Corelli’s Mandolin) was travelling through Dampier on his way to a literary dinner in 1998.  He saw the statue and started asking a few questions of the townsfolk.  The more he learned, the more intrigued he became.  It prompted him to put pen to paper and a novel loosely based on Red Dog’s life was the end result.

Screenwriter Daniel Taplitz and director Kriv Stenders (Lucky Country) have now brought the Red Dog story to the big screen.   The film is based on de Bernières’s novel but they decided to do their own research before kick-starting the production.  They too spoke with those who knew the famed animal and it helped them get a feel for the characters and the 1970s setting.

So who was Red Dog?  Put simply, he was a kelpie who roamed the rocky landscape of the Pilbara region.  He seemingly endeared himself to everyone.  There’s a scene early in the film where he sits in the middle of a dirt road and forces a car passing by to stop.  When the occupants get out and try to move him, Red Dog jumps up in their car and sits in the front seat.  It seems he just wanted a lift into town.

This film is split into two distinct halves.  During the early stages, we have fun getting to know Red Dog and the crazy stuff he got up to.  We also meet a curious assortment of characters and see the way in which Red Dog brought them together and put a smile on their face.  They include the animal’s pseduo-owner, John (Lucas), and his girlfriend, Nancy (Taylor).

After an unexpected twist (at least for those who haven’t read the book), the film takes on a more dramatic tone.  It was this second half of the film I enjoyed most.  The cheesy dialogue is left behind and we get to see these characters (including Red Dog himself) at their most vulnerable.  It will tug at the heartstrings of many in the audience.

The well-rounded cast includes Josh Lucas, Rachael Taylor, Noah Taylor, Luke Ford and Keisha Castle-Hughes.  The late Bill Hunter also makes a small cameo in what will be one of his final screen credits.  The strong cast is a testament to the film’s emotive story and beautiful setting.

He may not talk (unlike so many other dog movies) but the real star of the film is Red Dog.  The casting process took a while but it was a lovable kelpie named Koko who finally got the part.  There’s a humorous clip on Youtube (with close to 75,000 hits) where you can watch Koko auditioning for the role.  I was lucky enough to pat him when he was travelling through Brisbane on his “publicity tour”.  I only wish other actors would let me do the same!

You can read my interview with producer Nelson Woss by clicking here.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 20 July 2011

Things begin with Larry Crowne (Hanks) getting called into a meeting at work.  He thinks he’s going to receive the employee of the month award.  Instead, he is fired.  The company is downsizing and Larry has been earmarked for retention given his lack of a college education.  His days stocking shelves and pushing trolleys at U-Mart have come to an end.

Unable to find another job and struggling to meet his mortgage repayments, Larry makes the curious decision to enrol at a community college.  The reason I use the term “curious” is because Larry doesn’t have any idea what he’s doing.  He picks a subject on speeches and another on economics.  Why?  Well, because of advice from a complete stranger.  Go figure. 

Perhaps we can call it fate because these classes with change Larry’s life.  They improve his knowledge base and self-confidence but more importantly, he makes new friends.  One of them is a young woman who invites Larry to be part of her scooter riding “gang”.  My first thought was that they were out to take advantage of him but not so.  They actually have a soft spot for Larry and his nerdish mannerisms (as hard as that is to believe).

The film’s romantic angle comes with the arrival of Mercedes Tainot (Roberts), Larry’s unenthusiastic speech teacher.  The film doesn’t delve too deeply into her past but we know she’s unhappy.  She’s trapped in a loveless marriage to a man (Cranston) who sits at home and downloads internet porn all day. 

It’s nice to see good things happening to good people and I’m sure some will watch Larry Crowne with a smile on their face.  It’s a clean, sweet, innocent film that I could safely take my mother to see.  It wasn’t for me however.  It felt like I was being smothered with “feel good” moments.  Everything about the story and its characters is too far detached from reality.

Having been poorly received by both the critics (judging from Rotten Tomatoes) and the public (judging from the Internet Movie Database), I know I’m not alone with my negative thoughts.  This film is too simplistic and I think many were expecting much more.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 27 July 2011

Who was Mary Surratt?  It’s a question I didn’t know the answer to beforehand.  For those similar minded people unfamiliar with her small place in history, Mary (played in the film by Robin Wright) was charged in 1865 for abetting, aiding, concealing, counselling and harbouring (it’s a long list) those responsible for the murder of President Abraham Lincoln.

Mary proclaimed her innocence but the odds were clearly stacked against her.  For starters, the Secretary Of War, Edwin Stanton (Kline), was doing everything possible to ensure a speedy trial.  He arranged for the matter to be heard in front of a military tribunal (as opposed to a civilian court) and was suspected of manipulating the testimony of witnesses to help secure a guilty verdict.

Further, Mary had been appointed an inexperienced defence lawyer by the name of Frederick Aiken (McAvoy).  He was reluctant to take the role and knew it was a “poisoned chalice”.  If he managed to win the case, he would be known as the guy who let one of Lincoln’s murderers go free.  If he lost the case, it would damage his professional reputation.

The first half hour feels too much like a history lesson but from thereon in, The Conspirator is a compelling drama.  I’m a sucker for courtroom dramas and so perhaps that’s why I enjoyed it so much.  The story is set 150 years ago but it’s just as relevant in today’s age.  When it comes to high profile legal cases, it’s not easy to get a fair trial given that so many have formed an opinion.

Director Robert Redford (Ordinary People, Quiz Show) has pulled together one of the strongest casts of the year.  James McAvoy, Robin Wright and Tom Wilkinson all deliver passionate performances.  Kevin Kline is also great in is villainous role.  I was a little disappointed by some of the supporting players however.  I had trouble picturing the likes of Justin Long, Alexis Bledel and Stephen Root in their respective roles.

The Conspirator is the first feature film to have been made by The American Film Company.  The organisation was founded in 2008 by Joe Ricketts with the goal of bringing true stories about America’s past to the big screen.  Based on this effort, I look forward to their next production.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 15 July 2011

The French are usually reliable when it comes to romantic comedies but Beautiful Lies is not a film I’d cite as an example.  It’s as if they’ve borrowed from the American model and tried to come up with something too crazy and convoluted.  That said, I should at least be thankful that there’s no toilet humour.

The woman occupying centre stage is a young hairdresser named Emilie (Tautou) who runs her own hair salon.  I’m not sure how the business makes any money based on its strange staff but we’ll save that question for another time.

The guy trying to earn her affections is Jean (Bouajila), a handyman who has been employed to do a few odd jobs.  It appears the only reason he’s working there is so that he can perve on Emilie.  This is quickly confirmed when we learn he was once a translator and he can speak many languages.  He could certainly do better than this small, low paying job.

Jean writes an anonymous love letter to Emilie but it doesn’t make much of an impact.  She thinks it’s from a creepy old man and chucks it straight in the bin.  Later that day, she digs it out.  It’s not because she’s had a change of heart.  Rather, she wants to copy the letter and send it to her mother.

Before you start scratching your head, it turns out that Emilie’s mother (Baye) has been in the doldrums since separating from her husband four years ago.  Emilie thinks that by sending her an anonymous love letter, it might get her out of the house and kick start her self confidence.

It’s not the brightest of ideas and it quickly goes pear shaped.  The mother goes back to her gloomy self when no further letters arrive and so Emilie continues the charade by sending more letters.  It’s obvious no thought went into the idea.  This get even sillier when Emilie coaxes Jean into taking her mother on a date and pretending that it was he who wrote the letters.

How could this possibly end well?  Writer-director Pierre Salvador tries to come up with a neat, happy ending but it doesn’t work.  I hated all of these people.  Emilie is selfish and has little appreciation for those around her.  Jean is a love-sick fool with no direction in life.  The mother seems to have a distinct lack of social skills.  It’s pretty hard to enjoy a romantic comedy when there isn’t a single likeable character.

It’s a shame to see the beautiful Audrey Tautou (Amelie, The Da Vinci Code) wasted on such an uninteresting role.  I could say the same for Nathalie Baye (Tell No One, Catch Me If You Can) who must have been instructed to overplay the part as much as possible.  She’s incredibly annoying.

It’s been a slow year in Australia so far in terms of quality foreign language films and Beautiful Lies continues that trend.  Hopefully there’ll be some better stuff in the months to follow.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 24 July 2011

For as long as she can remember, 15-year-old Hanna (Ronan) has lived with her father (Bana) in a world of total isolation.  They reside in a tiny wooden shack hidden away in a snow-covered forest just below the Arctic Circle.  She’s never interacted with another human being and she’s never even heard music.  Her limited knowledge of the outside world has come exclusively from her father and a small number of books.

The film’s opening scene shows us that Hanna is no ordinary girl.  She stalks an unsuspecting deer and then kills it using a simple bow and arrow.  It’s all part of her father’s plan to transform her into the ultimate assassin.  Hanna is put through a gruelling training regime each day in freezing cold conditions and has developed into a ruthless young girl who is incredibly fast on her feet.

It’s a curious introduction that takes an equally curious twist.  Hanna is given a transmitter by her father and she flicks the activation switch.  The time has come.  Her father packs his things and walks out the front door.  He tells her that they’ll rendezvous at an abandoned amusement park in Berlin.  Between now and then, she’s on her own and must complete her mission.

The transmitter instantly grabs the attention of CIA Agent Marissa Wiegler (Blanchett).  She’s been waiting for this day for a long time.  She tells her superiors that the situation must be contained and a fully-armed team is immediately dispatched to the transmitter’s location.  On arrival, they find the young Hanna and take her into custody.  She doesn’t even put up a fight.

I won’t divulge too much more at this stage.  Hanna is an intriguing action-thriller that’s best described as a cross between Run Lola Run and The Bourne Identity.  You won’t be 100% sure about what was going on but that’s why it will so easily hold your attention.  Who are the good guys?  Who are the bad guys?  It’s not as simple as black and white.

Saoirse Ronan (Atonement, The Lovely Bones) is one of the finest young actors working today and she impresses once again with this challenging role.  Hanna is finally getting a chance to see the world but she’s finding it hard to reconcile.  She meets some very friendly people (such a nice family who she travels with) but also some very nasty people (such as those out to hurt her).  This contrast is humorously illustrated in a scene where she meets an attractive boy for the first time.

The film is certainly a departure from director Joe Wright who is better known for his period romances Pride & Prejudice and Atonement.  He has quickly adapted himself to the action genre and made a wise move in selecting The Chemical Brothers to put together a funky film score.  I don’t know how long it took to shoot some of the scenes but Saoirse Ronan must have been exhausted by the end of it.  She does so much running!

The film’s weakness is its finale.  When you see all the pieces of the puzzle fitted together, the result is underwhelming.  My first comment to a friend on leaving the theatre was that I liked the film’s style but it “needed more plot”.  I also have question marks about the relevance of an incompetent attack team employed by Agent Wiegler (led by Tom Hollander) to track down Hanna.  Too goofy for my liking.

Yes, this could have been better but Hanna should be seen for its attempt to bring style back to this well trodden genre.