Glass (1989)

User Rating:

3.2/10   

Director:

Chris Kennedy

Writer:

Chris Kennedy (writer)

Genre:

Thriller

Plot Keywords:

Independent Film

Cast

Alan Lovell	...	Richard Vickery
Lisa Peers	...	Julie Vickery
Adam Stone	...	Peter Breen
Natalie McCurry	...	Alison Baume
Julie Herbert	...	Brenda Fairfax
Bernard Clisby	...	Inspector Ambrosoll
Richard Gilbert	...	Reg
Marilyn Thomas	...	Alice
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Brennan	...	Maxwell (Accountant)
Felicity Copeland	...	Veronica
Rowan Jackson	...	Charlie
Lucinda Walker-Powell	...	Dianne

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Filming Locations:

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Company:

Oilrag Productions

Several Well-Staged Scenes Of Suspense Only Minimally Compensate For A Generally Weak Effort.

A paltry-budgeted Australian item filmed with videotape, this film is subsequently burdened by low production values but yet provides sufficient entertainment for a suspenseful evening's viewing, although its storyline fails to make perfect sense despite producer/writer/director Chris Kennedy's attempts to weave together several sub-narrative lines. Entrepreneur Richard Vickery (Alan Lovell), whose eponymous corporation has an undetermined commercial function, is an idealist opposed to any application of his wealth that might be purely involved with financial acquisition, but his corrupt corporate attorney, Peter Breen (Adam Stone) has developed a flawed plan to erect a casino upon an offshore island, employing Vickery funds to dislodge an island based assisted living residence for indigent senior citizens. As it turns out, Vickery's estranged wife Julie (Lisa Peers) is also involved in Breen's venture and, while remaining the attorney's lover, she expresses a desire to an unsuspecting Vickery for a conciliation, in order to support Peter with his scheme that is largely bankrolled by an organized crime figure. While all of this goes on, actions of a darker sort are occurring within the Vickery Building and its car park: women are being slain by an unknown suspect wielding a large shard of glass, and when Vickery, owner of 51% of the corporation's stock, remains steadfast to his principles, it would appear that he may be lured into a trap set by the murderer. The scenario struggles with problems of logic and continuity but is revivified toward its end by several well-designed sequences of suspense, and although there is precious little of merit in the cinematography for this work shot in Birkenhead and other Sydney districts, it is no simple matter to create something worthy for a feature film when utilizing a videotape process. It is plain that this is the principal reason for the failure of Kennedy's atmospherically designed piece to consistently engage a viewer's attention; nonetheless, despite an obvious lack of funding, there are players on board who went on to perform in more successful productions, with acting honours here handily going to top billed Peers for her layered turn as a woman of guile.