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This represents all that is wrong with Aussie cinema!

posted 13 years ago by mattg0376
21 replies | jump to latest

It's boggling to see so many positive reviews for Red Hill. It is a poorly-plotted, morally simplistic, revenge tale.

And it is yet another example of why Australian films for the past ten years have been consistently poor.

The protagonist does nothing more than go from A to B to C without contributing anything to the story. The 'twist' at the end is designed to give Kwanten's character a purpose, but it comes ridiculously late.

The inclusion of the panther is pointless and, frankly, screams out for what this movie should have been about.

The villain is little more than Jason Vorhees. A masked killer, silently murdering without emotion, all the while, lumbering around like Karloff's Frankenstein.

The dialogue is atrocious, with Steve Bisley especially stumbling with Americanisms. "If he comes, he'll be bringing hell with him."

The scenes lack any tension. The killer, like in Friday the 13th, is always 'just there all of a sudden' and, like Vorhees, seems to have a supernatural sense of where people are hiding.

How many people die on their knees, or stomachs, crying out, "Please"? Yawn. And Kwanten seems to recover instantly from his stomach injury. One minute he's crawling along, the next he's running flat out down the street, dodging flaming debris.

The problem with Aussie films is that they all suffer from poor scripts. No-one seems willing to work with script editors, script doctors etc. Aussie films look beautiful, but play out with cringe-worthy amateurism.

[–] OutlawsDeLejos 13 years ago

It seemed to suffer from a very tight budget, but none the less I really enjoyed it.

[–] willywilly 13 years ago

Yep, plain retarded.

[–] willywilly 13 years ago

Ok, I should be kinder. AU has a problem with writers and directors learning basic storytelling skills on the job. There should be a micro budget feature fund for first timers, not a 3mill a pop. There was a relentless lack of narrative logic in this film.

[–] vny109-1 13 years ago

The OP has some valid points but they still didn't detract from my enjoyment of the film. Look at it this way, maybe the native was the real protagonist and Kwanteen was the unwilling sidekick all along. The panther was just cool.

[–] mav_ian 13 years ago

This movie wasn't perfect, but it's hardly what's wrong with Aussie Cinema. I don't even understand your argument, because it's hardly even typical of contemporary Australian films.

I can buy that you didn't like the film, fair enough, it wasn't to your taste, but all these reasons you're reaching for are just gonna end up being the stones you'll try to throw through your own glass walls. Are all the films you approve of without flaws?

Like I said before, I don't think it's perfect by any stretch, but if you can't see how it still has some value for those of us who were entertained by it, you're just being conceited.
This film was only made for a tiny budget when the director decided to go for broke and make a film, most of the small budget was raised privately. The 4 week shoot was tiny and they could only afford enough film to do one or two takes. Who was going to pay for these script doctors and editors? Because of course, all the great screenplays were doctored up by some failed journalist.

This thing was only barely able to get made, when our local industry mainly just plays host to foreign productions and can't support much local content at all. What if we lose support for local films altogether? Who will pay for the script doctors then?
I'm not saying you have to like it if you didn't, but if others did, why is it so terrible?

[–] mattg0376 13 years ago

It's terrible for the same reason other failed films are terrible: weak script.

You argue that they were pushed by an unreasonable schedule. Scripts - especially unsolicited or spec scripts - are not necesarily under such tight schedules. The script, hopefully, is in some locked form by the time production begins.

The unreasonable production schedule didn't seem to hinder the production design or cinematography, which were outstanding. Therefore, at the risk of sounding "conceited," your argument is missing my point.

I argued the script needed desperate attention. You respond with the classic "out" all filmmakers who produce *beep* use: "Oh, it's not our fault, the schedule was so tight."

You do, however, raise an interesting paradox when you say, "What if we lose support for local filmmakers altogether? Who will pay for script doctors then?" The paradox being, we WILL lose all support if we DON'T start improving our scripts.

I'm baffled by your comment that "all the great screenplays were doctored up by some failed journalist." Screenplay writing is a far tougher medium to successfully pull off than journalism, in my opinion.

And since I'm being conceited, I'll conclude with one last general sweeping statement: With the exception of the outstanding Animal Kingdom, NO Australian film that has been marketed to a mainstream audience has been acclaimed for its script.

[–] planet-marcus 13 years ago

The Proposition, Shine, The Boys, Chopper,

[–] CromeRose 8 years ago

The Proposition was a misfire of a movie... a total waste of resources.

[–] mag6581 11 years ago

^^ This.

Sorry for the me-tooism but there's not much else to add. Australian scripts suck. The actors are great, the crews are awesome, but the script-writing sucks. Any Hollywood producer will say, "It's the script, stupid," but Aussies just don't get that. If the script hasn't been in development for three years it's probably crap.

[–] gnome-chomsky 13 years ago

OK, it's not the best film in history, but you yourself compare Shane to Jason Voorhees - how much money did that franchise make, and how many sequels?

I don't even think the script is the weakness of the film. It is deliberately pared back, with Jimmy saying seven words in the entire 90+ minutes, and dialogue between Shane and his wife trimmed to the bone.

The screenplay is where I see the flaws. I cannot imagine a police officer going on duty without his weapon, or with a book of baby names in his pocket. Jimmy sparing the innocent while killing the guilty was a bit laboured, and they glossed over how he was convicted of murdering his wife when no body was ever found.

Australia is, if anything, punching above its weight in films of this genre. The first Saw, The Proposition, The Square, The Loved Ones, Animal Kingdom, Wolf Creek, not to mention the films shot there but not necessarily set there, such as Ghost Rider - all suggest Australia has a vibrant film-making industry.

Let's face it, there are twenty million people spread over an area the size of Europe. Omeo is a pig of a place to get to, and then Gleason's place is described as 6 km from the corner by the communications tower. The Victorian High Country is an isolated region like few others on Earth, and was an appropriate setting for a modern western.

I have lived in that part of Australia. It is very different to the outback, but just as lawless. The people of the High Country are something else altogether. Settlers cut the top off a mountain to create a cricket pitch at Walhalla, and the story of how such towns got television reception command respect.

Jindabyne and Somersault are also set in the Australian Alps, although on the New South Wales side, and give a vivid picture of a place few venture. The spirit of the old west lives on in the High Country.

And don't even get me started on the Aboriginal burial grounds story ... Except there was never a plan for a railway through the Alps. Up and down maybe, but never through.

[–] remembervhs 12 years ago

The brilliance of this movie is that it's a formulaic western (stranger rides into town seeking revenge) that's told from a completely original point of view (from one of the people trying to stop him).

7/10

[–] forcedford 11 years ago

I would normally watch any crap on TV, but I watching this movie right now thinking this is Americanised crap for US, it even looks like NTSC (Never The Same Colour) instead of PAL, I love a Western, even a modern one, but Australia is not USA, so why did they bother.
For anyone not in Australia, we don't keep old vehicles for Police cars, country cops don't normally ride horses (LOL), pistols are uncommon and don't just get handed out (hard gun laws), cops don't use the public to hunt crims, , most cops know not to swear in public (especially in front of a crowd), the panther story is an old urban myth in Australia, still watching so there is probably more to add.

So far watching the movie they got the slang right.

[–] balducci2 10 years ago

Seem to be an awful lot of big cat sightings for a myth:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/sightings-of-western-sydney8217s-roaming-panther-spark-investigation/story-e6frg6n6-1226726919841

As for the rest of it, I think some critics are a little too sensitive. I've been to Australia a couple of times, I understand everything in Red Hill is not representative of every single community or person in Australia. But there are cops there who swear in public. And there are also cops there, even in large urban centres, who ride horses (I've seen it myself in Sydney and in Surfers Paradise). So it is hard to believe that it never, ever happens in a small town in the country. The movie captures a small slice of Australian life, like how some small budget U.S. movies capture small slices of Americana.

[–] mortezahalimi 11 years ago

I think the worst thing about Australian films is the denial of Aussies who mostly claim that Red Hill is a good film! ... BUT IT IS NOT! When you refuse to see the problem, not matter what it is, there will never be any solutions.

[–] cmcurrie2 11 years ago

And you have how many films? ROFL . . . . I doubt many people will pay much attention to your snark.