Silent Partner (2001) User Reviews

portrait of a two-faceted friendship

[mirko-2 · 9/10 · 6 September 2001]

This is a low budget movie. It was actually filmed for $10,000 US. It requires some effort to watch, but is very rewarding in return. Two friends--low-down drunk losers-- are given the chance to make some money with a racing dog loaned to them by some shady character we only get to know on the phone. And then they start to dream. While they are best friends, they are also worst enemies, because together they will destroy each other. Also the friendship is very unsymmetrical. One is very trusting and runs along with the other one, who is unintentionally deceptive and dominant. Through all that happens they must overcome their friendship so that it can perhaps be transformed. That is the only hope for the future that they have. I liked the film very much for its portrait style and its completeness in portraying. Many still-like shots of the two characters contribute to the portrait mode of the film. It was designed to work a little like a documentary. The director said at the Toronto Film Festival that the crew was intentionally kept unawares of the script so that they felt like they were shooting a documentary. For a low-budget film, this one is excellent, but you got to sit through it, friends. It's not Hollywood candy, but it's good for you.

"...an ultra-realistic slap in the face that has the form and feel of the best work of British playwright Harold Pinter."

[Minor_Byrd · 9/10 · 29 October 2001]

The true force of Australia's co-opting of the English language is still too much for some people - and some filmmakers - to bear. Sure, it's fine if it's buried within the confines of a comedy like Two Hands, but when it forms the vital muscle that holds a film together, you can almost hear the cringes even from an audience that allegedly "loves" Australian cinema. And Silent Partner is one of the most confronting examples of the bludgeoning power of the Australian vernacular ever seen on screen. It's an extraordinary film, and it's sure to cut audiences in half. John (Field) and Bill (Brisbane) are the kind of characters usually ignored not just by the cinema, but by the media in general. They're desperate, borderline impoverished and going nowhere fast. Their life is a haze of booze, cheap speed and cold nights spent at the greyhound races. But things seemingly start to change when the pair are tapped by a mysterious Mr. Big to run a dog for him - the aptly named Silent Partner. But as they fumble and ramble through the scheme, it's bang-obvious that the con is on. Adapted from the play by Daniel Keene, Silent Partner is an ultra-realistic slap in the face that has the form and feel of the best work of British playwright Harold Pinter. The language is aggressive and guttural, and stabs right to the heart of the matter, while the film is sliced down to the barest of essentials. Apart from random background players, Silent Partner is a literal two-hander, driven solely by Field and Brisbane, who give it absolutely everything they've got. These are astonishing performances dragged right from the souls of the two actors, and they brand the film with a gut wrenching honesty and poignancy. The characters may be ragged bottom feeders, but they're also strangely sympathetic in their determination and loyalty to one another. They're unforgettable characters, and Silent Partner is an unforgettable film, bravely and strikingly told in the blaring rhythms of our own voice.