Mystery Road (2013) 6.5
An indigenous detective returns to the Outback to investigate the murder of a young girl. Director:Ivan SenWriter:Ivan Sen |
|
Watch Trailer 0Share... |
Mystery Road (2013) 6.5
An indigenous detective returns to the Outback to investigate the murder of a young girl. Director:Ivan SenWriter:Ivan Sen |
|
Watch Trailer 0Share... |
Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Aaron Pedersen | ... |
Detective Jay Swan
|
|
Hugo Weaving | ... |
Johnno
|
|
Ryan Kwanten | ... |
Pete Bailey
|
|
Jack Thompson | ... |
Charlie Murray
|
|
Tony Barry | ... |
Sergeant
|
|
Robert Mammone | ... |
Constable Roberts
|
|
Tasma Walton | ... |
Mary
|
|
Damian Walshe-Howling | ... |
Wayne
|
|
David Field | ... |
Mr. Bailey
|
|
Bruce Spence | ... |
Jim the Coroner
|
|
Jack Charles | ... |
Old Boy
|
|
Tricia Whitton | ... |
Crystal
|
|
Siobhan Binge | ... |
Tarni
|
|
Daniel Roberts | ... |
Macca
|
|
Samara Weaving | ... |
Peggy
|
In an outback town, Jay Swan, an Indigenous cowboy detective, returns home to solve the murder of a teenage Indigenous girl whose body is found under the highway trucking route out of town. Jay is alienated from both the white-dominated police force and the Indigenous community, including his teenage daughter, whom he discovers is connected to the murdered girl. Starring Aaron Pedersen, Hugo Weaving, Jack Thompson, Ryan Kwanten, and Tasma Walton, MYSTERY ROAD is a gripping murder mystery with a cultural perspective. Written by Anonymous
I don't think this is the greatest film ever made, or even Ivan Sven's best, but it's definitely worth a look. You'll have to leave aside any US parochialism (the US experience of place, politics, and film convention all too often stand in as "universal" or "neutral") and accept that this film may be addressing particularly Australian experiences and expressions of place, race, and politics, even as Sven tries to frame these concerns within recognisable genre conventions. His film probably doesn't fully succeed; and like most genre films, there's some predictability and inevitability about the plot line and outcomes. However, there's an excellent central performance and - if you allow yourself to settle into the rhythm the film demands, instead of looking for satisfaction of your own particular expectations/needs - the mood of the piece is affecting. In parts, it reminds me of Wake in Fright. That it presents an Aboriginal man as the central figure - and a policeman at that - "waking in fright" as an outsider in his own town/country is worth thinking about. Is it an "authentic" representation of "the outback"? What would that be? What's "the" "outback"? How would we know it was "authentic", and who has the right to say? Is John Ford's "The Searchers" an "authentic" representation of "the West"? I'm not suggesting this is on the same level as The Searchers, but to write it off as some have on this site seems harsh. Worth a look; it may teach you something about race relations in Australia.