The Outlaw Michael Howe


It's an interesting film with good production values, though clearly made on a tight (miniscule perhaps?) budget. Thus we get plenty of shots of the wild Tasmanian bush, but nothing to even give us much of an historical approximation of the early Tasmanian settlements. Everything is in close-up. Virtually nothing of Howe's early life is depicted. Thirty seconds into the film he's running with John Whitehead's band of bushrangers and already met Black Mary, one of the two influential women in his later life. Shortly thereafter he assumes the leadership of the gang.

Snatches of his life are presented, but there's no fluid story. E.G. One minute he's supposedly the leader of a 100 strong army of bushrangers, which of course we never see. The next minute he and Mary are running for their lives and we're wondering where all his buddies are.

There appears to be the basis of a really interesting story here, but this film isn't the vehicle to take us through it.🐭

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