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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 24 August 2003

In the basement of his large house, he finds a small rat which he names Socrates and it becomes his new best friend.  There are other rats in basement and when Willard starts feeding them, more arrive and soon there’s an army of hundreds living downstairs.  One of these rats (which Willard names Ben) is extremely large and is a leader amongst them.  Willard understands this and sees Ben becoming jealous of the attention he gives Socrates.  He needs to be careful.

Willard is one of the strangest yet creative thrillers released this year.  I deliberate haven’t gone into much plot detail because there are some very bizarre developments which shouldn’t be spoilt.  If you have an aversion towards rats, you’ll need to be fully prepared before entering the cinema.  This isn’t some funny, quirky comedy.  There are graphic scenes of the rats eating living things which could leave some audience members rather sick.

The leading actor is Crispin Glover.  It’s a surprisingly emotional performance and delivers it with amazing intensity.  We last saw Glover in a tiny role in Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle but this more fitting of his talent.  If you’re wondering where you’ve seen him before, Glover has had small parts in Nurse Betty, The People Vs. Larry Flynt and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.  He must be one of the few actors in Hollywood who would allow himself to be constantly surrounded by filthy rats.

There are some strong special effects and the direction from Glen Morgan befits the subject material.  It his directorial debut but he has a long background in producing and writing movies and television shows.  What a disturbing way to begin a full feature career.

This low-budget film will leave you constantly on your toes.  It’s impossible to pre-empt what will happen next and this is how a good thriller should operate.  Willard will find a cult following and despite my high recommendation, only see it if you’re prepared for it.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 18 August 2003

Writer/director Tony McNamara created the strangely named Placid Lake but had difficulty in finding an actor who was quirky enough for the role.  Musician Ben Lee grabbed his attention and the chemistry with co-star Rose Byrne landed him the part.  The term “singer turned actor” has become somewhat of a cliché in the wake of Eminem and Jennifer Lopez but McNamara bypassed his initial self doubts and made an inspired decision.  Lee is simply superb in his first acting role.  Girlfriend Claire Danes (Romeo & Juliet) was on set for much of the eight week shoot and would have been a valuable resource of information to him.

Placid Lake (Lee) is an eccentric teenager raised by two hippie parents – Sylvia (Richardson) and Doug (McDonald).  His intelligence, mixed with sarcasm, sees him ostracised and continually picked on at school.  He’s the male equivalent of Thora Birch in Ghost World.  His best friend and sole confidant is a girl he has known almost all his life, Gemma (Byrne).  About to finish their final year of school, Placid talks of back-packing overseas whilst Gemma looks to follow her father’s wishes of studying science.

What develops is an educated look at the pressures teens face in leaving school and McNamara extends the material to make some insightful commentary on today’s corporate society.  Placid decides that it’s time for conformity.  There’s no point being part of the world’s rebellious minority and so he applies and accepts a junior position at a large insurance company.  A nine-to-five desk job is the last thing you’d expect from Placid but he’s does it because he thinks it’s what the world expects from him.  He’s taken a page from Gemma’s book.

Conversely, Gemma starts to lose her way.  The pressures of her father to achieve excellent results have put her on edge.  After years of being the “good girl”, she’s looking to rebel and live life for a change.  She’s taken a page from Placid’s book.

They both learn much from their transformations with Placid providing much of the film’s comedy inside the insurance company.  He knows how to play the game and mocks the system by bullshitting his way up the corporate ladder.  It’s not as hard as he thought to “win friends and influence people”.  A powerfully depressing speech by his boss at seminar tells Placid all he needs to know about the path he has chosen.  It’s the film’s defining moment.

There have been some wonderful Australian released in 2003 and this is the best of the bunch.  I’d go so far to say it’s one of our best ever.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 21 August 2003

West Germany, 1989.  Military clerk Ray Elwood (Phoenix) smoothly runs a black market operation from within his quarters at the American Army base.  There’s no war on but Ray couldn’t care either way.  His father forced him to enlist so that he could avoid a six month jail sentence for car theft.  As Ray so eloquently phrases it – “war is hell, but peace is boring.”

Through a supplier in town, he obtains the ingredients and then manufactures drugs in a building on base.  His main customers are his fellow comrades who float around the camp and often perform duties whilst stoned.  The base leader is Colonel Berman (Harris) who is oblivious to what goes on and Ray has him wrapped around his little finger.  When an autopsy on a dead soldier shows traces of everything from heroin to estrogen, Ray still manages to convince the Colonel it’s a rare exception and that he does a stellar job leading the troops.  It’s like something out of Hogan’s Heroes.

At first glance, Buffalo Soldiers looks like an undemanding comedy but a darker layer emerges when Sergeant Lee (Glenn) arrives to straighten things out.  He’s a Vietnam veteran who loves exercising his authority to keep a strict regime of discipline.  Lee immediately suspects Ray of underground activities and his actions provide a stern warning that it’s time to fly straight.

In a moment of innocent stupidity, Ray decides to irritate Lee by lining up a date with his young daughter, Robyn (Paquin).  He’s upfront with Robyn and says that he’s only using her to get back at her father but the two find similarities in each other’s rebelliousness and there’s true romance in the air.  Usually the joker, Ray now finds himself is a position of serious trouble.  An incredibly large drug shipment is due to arrive and it’ll never get past Lee’s unrelenting eyes.  He tries to renege on the drug deal but his contacts threaten death if he doesn’t deliver.  All he wants now is Robyn but he’s stuck in a lose-lose situation that’s spiralling to an inevitable conclusion.

Ray Elwood is a very interesting character and a first-rate decision was made to cast Joaquin Phoenix (Gladiator) in the role.  His care-free personality combined with softly-spoken demeanour enable us to see the transformation from a guy having a little fun to a guy having his life shattered.  He’s not the only actor delivering a fine performance.  I’ve become so accustomed to the cliché of hard and demanding military leaders that seeing Ed Harris play the exact opposite provide as a great surprise.  There’s great chemistry between Oscar winner Anna Paquin (X-Men) and Phoenix.  They share two great scenes (one in a nightclub and one on a diving board) that show how to bring realistic freshness to screen romances.

I’m a fan of any film which draws attention to the stupidity of Americans and the screenplay, based on Robert O’Connor’s book, does just that.  The film was made over two years ago but the release was delayed as it was seen to be in bad taste after the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.  I should be thankful we’re seeing the film at all because it deserves to be ranked as one of the year’s best.

There’s an Australian connection in that the director is 35-year-old Gregor Jordan.  Jordan’s very first feature, Two Hands, won five Australian Film Industry Awards including best picture, best director and best director.  His overnight success saw him presented with a flood of scripts and he wisely chose Buffalo Soldiers as his anticipated follow-up.  This year’s Ned Kelly (starring Heath Ledger) was his third film but I think we’ll just pretend that never existed.  Two out of three ain’t bad.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 13 August 2003

I do have sympathy for McDonalds since their successes have made them an easy target.  Like Microsoft, the fact that they have overly excelled in their business has left them open for bad press.  However, I do see the negatives that arise from such monopolistic competition and accordingly, I really did enjoy watching the new Australian film, Take Away.

Tony (Colosimo) and Trev (Curry) run two take away shops on the same block.  Tony is a man of class.  He motivates himself with Anthony Robbins tapes, prides himself on his marketing and service ability, and entices customers with daily fish specials.  Trev is the exact opposite.  His store is filthy and his appearance leaves much to be desired but he’s still got the best burgers in town and the people still keep coming in.  Tony and Trev compete friendly with each other but they’re soon to become allies when a much bigger player moves in.

Opening their latest chain on the empty block next door is Burgies.  The store has the all the characteristics of McDonalds – the soggy fries, the 10-year-old staff, the cute jingles.  At a community meeting, the Burgies manager proclaims his delight in that his company donates money to junior sport and has a centre to care for sick children.

Within days of opening, Tony and Trev see their businesses faltering.  They are no match for the marketing juggernaut and their anger is growing.  The last straw comes when Burgies steals Trev’s idea of “beef nuggets”.  For some reason, they didn’t try his idea of “dim sim on a stick”.  Still, it’s all about survival and in this David and Goliath comedy, we know who’s going to come off best.

The jokes weaken in the final half hour of the film which indicates there wasn’t enough material to pull the story off.  The alluring Rose Byrne (Two Hands) is wasted in a role which should have been bigger given her talent.  In what must be a record though, Take Away marks the fourth time I have seen her in five weeks.  She’s been busy with I Capture The Castle, The Rage In Placid Lake and The Night We Called It A Day currently in cinemas.  Another supporting actor to watch in the future is Nathan Phillips.  He plays Trev’s assistant in Take Away and he’s already been cast in a string of upcoming films following his starring debut in last year’s Australian Rules.

You probably don’t realise it but July through September each year is always the season for seeing good Australian films.  Their release is timed so that they are fresh in the minds of members when casting their votes for the Australian Film Industry Awards (announced in November).  Not since 2000 have we had such an exciting crop of Australian releases and with so many  in major cinemas at the moment, take the time to support our own industry.  You’ll be surprised.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 19 August 2003

Our broken hero is Detective Nick Tellis (Patric).  He worked undercover for a long period trying to bring down major drug operations.  18 months earlier, he chased a key drug dealer through the streets and yes, he did catch his man but he accidentally shot and killed a small baby in the process.  It was turning point in his life - he left the force and didn’t work at all.  He stayed home with his wife and looked after their own baby boy.

The police pension he receives is barely enough to get by on and when Captain Cheevers (McBride) comes to see Nick with a work opportunity, he decides to return.  His wife is furious and Nick knows the best way to satisfy everyone is to get a simple desk job – no risk and a safe paycheck.  That isn’t why Cheevers has come after Nick.  He promises the desk job but first he has to crack an unsolved case that is causing grief within the force.

Another undercover agent, Michael Calvess, was recently murdered and the leads have gone cold.  Calvess’s partner, Henry Oak (Liotta) was initally withdrawn from the case due to the emotional attachment he had with Calvess.  Nick knows that Henry’s going to be his best chance to get a start on this case and asks he be reinstated.  The pair begin their investigation and find many dead ends.  Some they have created themselves but others have been deliberately put in their path.

It’s a decent mystery and speaking from hindsight, the ending is well supported by what precedes it.  There’s no crazy twist or laughable plot development to spoil the suspense.  It’s interesting without being spectacular.  There isn’t enough story to set it apart from other films like it but conversely, there’s not much wrong either.