Two Canadian young women, on holiday in Australia, take a job to earn some money, when they run out.
They are sent to a South Australian town, to work in the local bar, which is a regular for all the local miners.
The bar is owned by Carol – an Aboriginal Auntie, and her partner Bill – a struggling alcoholic.
There soon become the object of affection by three men; the quiet and lonesome ‘Teeth’, the more lively, and empathetic Matty, and the Dolly, who has a quiet menacing aura about him.
Direction
Directed by Australian Kitty Green
Cast/Characters
Julia Garner plays the role of Hannah, who is subdued in her personality, struggling to open up to some of the locals. She takes offense to some of the language and jokes used at times, and is more wary of the ways of some of the men who frequent the bar.
Jessica Henwick plays the free-spirited Liv. She becomes the object of ‘Teeth’s’ attention, and responds with the locals in a more flirty nature than her friend, oblivious to some of the menace around her.
James Frecheville, Toby Wallace and Daniel Henshall play the characters; Teeth, Matty and Dolly respectively.
Hugo Weaving is brilliant as Bill, but it is Ursula Yovich who plays the heartbreaking role of Carol.
Screenplay/Setting/Themes
Set in the South Australian town of Yatina (which is actually only 3hrs from me!) it shows some of the beautiful Australian countryside.
The locals, as well as the pub owners are all introduced early on in the film, with the relationship between Carol and Bill hinted at being more than just colleagues. Bill is clearly a struggling alcoholic, as throughout the film he is never seen without a drink in his hand, and Carol constantly scolding him for it.
He is also struggling financially, with not paying his suppliers (Tommy, who I wish we got more screen time), and neglecting to pay Hannah and Liv.
His eventual spiral out of control, which leads Carol to take him off to hospital, is heartbreaking for her, and she becomes one of the most sympathetic characters in the film. Her sweet, caring nature – despite her early moments of the film, are the reason I give her the MVP).
What the film does well is show the ‘occa’ Aussie larrikin nature in good, and very bad…
The good is how some of it starts, with some of the crass jokes (Dickins Cider), and the course language that Australians use is frequent and aggressive (there is at last 30 uses of the ‘c’ word).
Before the third act we genuinely get some nice moments between some of the characters, primarily Hannah and Matty, as he tries to get her to get out of her shell, and then when she opens up about her family.
There is also a sweet moment where Teeth asks Liv out in front of all his friends, but is shot down.
Throughout the film the character of Dolly is a fairly silent type, often using his silence and his cold stares in an odd way. It is not until the final half hour where he shows his true colours, with the couple at the bar, leaving the snake – and the final break in.
While this is not really a change of tone, but it does feel like it was a slow burn to this culmination, and is only complemented by the performances.
Overall
I went in blind with this one, not really knowing what the narrative was going to be. The end result is an almost ‘psychological thriller’ – especially given what the two girls are put through, especially in the back half.
A solid film, with some great performances!
4/5
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