At first glance, this film has three horror words associated with it: low-budget, independent, and Australian. However, do not be deceived, this is a quality product. The use of locations, the world the film makers have established, the action, and the dark humour, more than make up for the lack of name actors, and the occasional piece of faulty music. The guys who made this obviously love Sergio Leone and Sam Peckinpah films, and this really comes across in the feel and tone. I have never seen a car chase with such crappy underpowered cars before and still been entertained. As with everything else in the film, it's not what they've got, but how they use it! The gunfights are well choreographed, not just another silly Americanised episode. The guns even have to be reloaded! How some of this stuff was done, especially in today's political environment, makes me wonder, but I doubt if I will be seeing anything like this in a low budget film again. Not in this country anyway. On the downside, the supporting cast make the lead seem rather lame, and some of the music, especially towards the end, seems like it was done in a hurry. However, there is nothing about this film that would normally fall under the category of 'Australian', it's not trying to be zany, quirky, or a 'slice of life'. It's just good.
Review of A Bullet in the Arse
