Unintended consequences is the theme of this Aussie thriller about lust, greed, and poor planning. The setup may seem familiar—a married man (David Roberts) and his mistress (Claire van der Boom) planning to runoff with her husband’s secret cash cache—but the execution is original. Superficially, the plot recalls Double Indemnity, among others. It has a plot like a film noir, but the execution is less stylized, the mistress is more an impulsive girl than a femme fatale, and the setting, Christmastime in a middle-class town, is a little different. (The setting being the southern Hemisphere, Christmas is celebrated in the summer, with an outdoor festival.) Still, the man’s fateful decision to go along with the plan backfires, and the consequences follow step by step, seemingly inevitably.
This is the debut feature of stunt man Nash Edgarton, from a story by his brother Joel Edgarton, an actor who plays the petty criminal hired to assist the scheming couple. Knowing this may suggest an Australian version of the Coen brothers, whose first film, Blood Simple, was also a thriller about a adultery in a small town. The Edgarton brothers’ effort is, as noted, less stylized, and the plot depends on at least one too many negligent homicides. But I liked the way the husband’s job as a construction supervisor is worked into the plot. The brothers may be ones to watch, in front of and behind the cameras.
IMDB link
viewed 5/20/10 at Ritz Bourse and reviewed 5/26/10
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