In this assured Australian thriller a middle-aged Croatian hitman, wearing a Stetson and bearing a striking resemblance to Roman Polanski, comes to an outback town to kill the sleazy owner of a filling station. He gets involved intentionally with a nasty pub-owner and accidentally with a sweet-natured barmaid. The feature debut of writer-director Paul China and his producer brother, Ben, both born and educated in Britain, the film borrows shamelessly from the Coen brothers’ debut, Blood Simple, for its mood and plot, and from Hitchcock’s Psycho for the screeching, all-string music of Bernard Herrmann. There’s little originality but a decent amount of suspense, a great deal of blood and some promise.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010
Published via the Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress.
Auch interessant:
Film Review: Jackpot
An enjoyable Scandinavian thriller from the pen of Jo Nesbø recalls Fargo and The Usual Suspects, says Philip French
False Trail
Kjell Sundvall's piece of Scandinavian noir is complex, gripping and disturbing, writes Philip French
A Good Day to Die Hard
The latest instalment in the Die Hard franchise is the poorest yet, writes Philip French
Film Review by Philip French: Frankenweenie
Tim Burton's stop-motion remake of a live-action short he made for Disney is funny, scary and not a minute too long, writes Philip French
Über Frank
Seit 1996 bin ich freier Mitarbeiter der Salzgitter-Zeitung, als Experte für das Geschehen im hiesigen Kreisfußball. Daneben sind meine Kolumnen seit 2005 fester Bestandteil im Lokalteil der Salzgitter-Zeitung. Zusammen mit Frau und Tochter sowie zwei gefräßigen wie faulen Stubentigern versuche ich das zu meistern, was das Leben, das Universum und der ganze Rest an Absurditäten für uns bereithalten.
