MOVIE REVIEW … SNOWTOWN

 

Snowtown has gained huge praise even before its release for its uncompromising grittiness.  This shouldn’t come as a surprise as Australian cinema does this so well.  Whilst it would be advantageous if the industry would get out of its dramatic comfort zone and try something else, Snowtown effectively shows why it has cornered the field in presenting striking drama.  As disturbing as the TV reports were when the infamous killings occurred, Snowtown is a bedevilling essay on the nature of evil.

Jamie (Lucas Pittaway) is overjoyed when John Bunting (Daniel Henshall) takes an interest in his life.   Living an impoverished existence with his Mum and brothers, he soon sees John as a much needed father figure.  A darker side emerges when he discovers John is in the midst of a killing spree where bodies are hidden away in a bank in Snowtown.  Becoming an accomplice, John’s influence brings Jamie under a terrible spell from which further tragedy awaits.

‘Confronting’ and ‘shocking’ have been used to describe Snowtown.  Those words ring very true as first time Director Justin Kurzel documents the actions of Australia’s worst serial killer.  This raw atmosphere is helped by his refusal to glamorise the killings as he lays them bare in chilling detail.  At no point does he make you sympathise with Bunting and his cowardly brethren as they methodically target their prey with calculating skill.  Whilst Jamie is used as a device to draw the viewer into this wretched world, the film allows the viewer to pass their own judgement on his complicity.

Ultimately Snowtown suffers from a lack of narrative definition which makes it far from perfect.  Occasionally it’s never clear what the motivations are or the relationships between characters – something it shares with several recent local productions.    This isn’t helped by a poorly structured and overly long script with an abrupt conclusion denying audiences a more rounded experience.  The performers are uniformly excellent however with Henshall’s magnetic rendition of such an abhorrent person very memorable.

Very uncomfortable viewing for most of its length, Snowtown won’t be for everyone.  Those brave enough to venture into the dark recesses of such a notorious killer will be stunned how such events occurred and be hopeful they never happen again.

Movie Review Rating 7 / 10

Movie Review by Patrick Moore

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