Colin Donnell is about to take on a very different role than before.
The Chicago Med and Arrow alum will headline Peacock dramedy Irreverent, which is set to premiere November 30.
All 10 episodes will be available on the premiere date.
"A criminal mediator from Chicago is forced to flee his life and everything he knows and hide out in a small Australian reef community in Far North Queensland posing as the new church Reverend," Peacock teases.
"Reverend Mackenzie Boyd (not his real name) has made a mess so bad he can never go home, but he’s going to need all his considerable street smarts to pull off posing as clergy - something he doesn’t know the first thing about."
"If he slips up, he’s dead and, after a lifetime of crime, doing good work is not something that comes naturally."
"But Mack finds himself in a small beach town,...
The Chicago Med and Arrow alum will headline Peacock dramedy Irreverent, which is set to premiere November 30.
All 10 episodes will be available on the premiere date.
"A criminal mediator from Chicago is forced to flee his life and everything he knows and hide out in a small Australian reef community in Far North Queensland posing as the new church Reverend," Peacock teases.
"Reverend Mackenzie Boyd (not his real name) has made a mess so bad he can never go home, but he’s going to need all his considerable street smarts to pull off posing as clergy - something he doesn’t know the first thing about."
"If he slips up, he’s dead and, after a lifetime of crime, doing good work is not something that comes naturally."
"But Mack finds himself in a small beach town,...
- 11/1/2022
- by Paul Dailly
- TVfanatic
For Robert Rabiah, Queensland’s Mission Beach is more than just the location where he is filming fish-out-of-water drama Irreverent – it’s also where he began his career.
The actor’s first professional job was appearing alongside Craig McLachlan, Nadine Garner, and Antonio Sabato Jr. in George Miller’s action/adventure mini-series Tribe, which was also based in the coastal town.
Speaking to If, Rabiah said his role in the Matchbox Pictures/NBCUniversal International Studios’ series more than two decades later was a case of his journey coming full circle.
“To come back after all these years feels nostalgic and satisfying,” he said.
In Irreverent, Rabiah plays Farah, a menacing hitman sent by the Chicago Mob to settle the ledger with a criminal mediator (Colin Donnell) who has taken refuge in Far North Queensland and assumed the identity of a church reverend.
Created by Paddy Macrae, the 10-part series also...
The actor’s first professional job was appearing alongside Craig McLachlan, Nadine Garner, and Antonio Sabato Jr. in George Miller’s action/adventure mini-series Tribe, which was also based in the coastal town.
Speaking to If, Rabiah said his role in the Matchbox Pictures/NBCUniversal International Studios’ series more than two decades later was a case of his journey coming full circle.
“To come back after all these years feels nostalgic and satisfying,” he said.
In Irreverent, Rabiah plays Farah, a menacing hitman sent by the Chicago Mob to settle the ledger with a criminal mediator (Colin Donnell) who has taken refuge in Far North Queensland and assumed the identity of a church reverend.
Created by Paddy Macrae, the 10-part series also...
- 12/2/2021
- by Sean Slatter
- IF.com.au
Colin Donnell is back in the NBCUniversal family with his next role. The Chicago Med and Arrow star is set to lead the cast of Peacock’s crime thriller Irreverent (a co-production between Peacock and Netflix Australia). The 10-episode drama also stars Pj Byrne, Kylie Bracknell, Briallen Clarke, Tegan Stimson, Ed Oxenbould, Wayne Blair, Russell Dykstra, Calen Tassone, and Jason Wilder. Irreverent is described as “a fish out of water drama” with criminal mediator Paulo Keegan (Donnell) — who keeps the peace between organized crime families in Chicago — at the center of it as he leaves the U.S. after a mediation goes wrong. Taking on the identity of Reverend Mackenzie “Mack” Boyd, he ends up trapped in the small, eccentric beach town of Clump, Australia, which is hundreds of miles away from civilization and phone reception. To stay alive, he has to make the town think he’s a devoted...
- 9/22/2021
- TV Insider
Chicago Med and Arrow star Colin Donnell is to lead Peacock’s Australia-set crime drama Irreverent.
The series, which Deadline revealed last month had scored a straight-to-series order, will also feature Pj Byrne, Kylie Bracknell, Briallen Clarke, Tegan Stimson, Ed Oxenbould, Wayne Blair, Russell Dykstra, Calen Tassone and Jason Wilder as series regulars.
Irreverent follows a criminal from Chicago who bungles a heist and is forced to hide out in a small Australian reef town in Far North Queensland posing as the new church Reverend.
Donnell will play Mack/Paulo, a skilled and articulate mediator who keeps the peace between organized crime families in Chicago. After a mediation goes badly wrong, Mack flees to a remote beach town in tropical Australia where he is forced to assume the identity of a Reverend in order to stay ahead of the people who want him dead.
Created by Paddy Macrae (Wanted), the...
The series, which Deadline revealed last month had scored a straight-to-series order, will also feature Pj Byrne, Kylie Bracknell, Briallen Clarke, Tegan Stimson, Ed Oxenbould, Wayne Blair, Russell Dykstra, Calen Tassone and Jason Wilder as series regulars.
Irreverent follows a criminal from Chicago who bungles a heist and is forced to hide out in a small Australian reef town in Far North Queensland posing as the new church Reverend.
Donnell will play Mack/Paulo, a skilled and articulate mediator who keeps the peace between organized crime families in Chicago. After a mediation goes badly wrong, Mack flees to a remote beach town in tropical Australia where he is forced to assume the identity of a Reverend in order to stay ahead of the people who want him dead.
Created by Paddy Macrae (Wanted), the...
- 9/22/2021
- by Alexandra Del Rosario
- Deadline Film + TV
Colin Donnell is trading his scrubs for a slightly different cloth. The former Chicago Med star will lead Peacock’s Irreverent, a co-production between the streamer and Netflix Australia, TVLine has learned.
Irreverent‘s official logline describes it as a “fish out of water drama that follows criminal mediator Paulo Keegan (Donnell) as he flees the United States after a mediation gone wrong and assumes the identity of Reverend Mackenzie ‘Mack’ Boyd. ‘Mack’ finds himself trapped in Clump, Australia — a small, eccentric beach town hundreds of miles away from civilization and phone reception. In order to stay alive, ‘Mack’ must...
Irreverent‘s official logline describes it as a “fish out of water drama that follows criminal mediator Paulo Keegan (Donnell) as he flees the United States after a mediation gone wrong and assumes the identity of Reverend Mackenzie ‘Mack’ Boyd. ‘Mack’ finds himself trapped in Clump, Australia — a small, eccentric beach town hundreds of miles away from civilization and phone reception. In order to stay alive, ‘Mack’ must...
- 9/22/2021
- by Michael Ausiello
- TVLine.com
Australian talent will be front and centre in Matchbox Pictures/NBCUniversal International Studios’ drama Irreverent when it starts production in Queensland tomorrow.
Kylie Bracknell, Calen Tassone, Briallen Clarke, Tegan Stimson, Ed Oxenbould, Wayne Blair, Russell Dykstra, and Jason Wilder will be series regulars on the Netflix and Peacock co-commission, with Susie Porter, Bridie McKim, Martin Sacks, and Ursula Yovich also set to appear.
Created by Paddy Macrae, Irreverent follows criminal mediator Paulo Keegan (Colin Donnell) as he flees the United States after a mediation gone wrong and assumes the identity of Reverend Mackenzie “Mack” Boyd in Clump, a small, Australian beach town hundreds of miles away from civilization and phone reception.
While there, he encounters Piper (Bracknell), a gifted cop who has returned to her hometown after a successful start to her career in the city, and begins to suspect he isn’t who he says he is. Clarke plays...
Kylie Bracknell, Calen Tassone, Briallen Clarke, Tegan Stimson, Ed Oxenbould, Wayne Blair, Russell Dykstra, and Jason Wilder will be series regulars on the Netflix and Peacock co-commission, with Susie Porter, Bridie McKim, Martin Sacks, and Ursula Yovich also set to appear.
Created by Paddy Macrae, Irreverent follows criminal mediator Paulo Keegan (Colin Donnell) as he flees the United States after a mediation gone wrong and assumes the identity of Reverend Mackenzie “Mack” Boyd in Clump, a small, Australian beach town hundreds of miles away from civilization and phone reception.
While there, he encounters Piper (Bracknell), a gifted cop who has returned to her hometown after a successful start to her career in the city, and begins to suspect he isn’t who he says he is. Clarke plays...
- 9/22/2021
- by Sean Slatter
- IF.com.au
Chicago Med and Arrow alum Colin Donnell is headed Down Under.
Donnell will star in a Peacock drama called Irreverent that’s set to begin production in Australia soon. The series will also feature Pj Byrne, Kylie Bracknell, Briallen Clarke, Tegan Stimson, Ed Oxenbould, Wayne Blair, Russell Dykstra, Calen Tassone and Jason Wilder.
Donnell will play Paulo Keegan, a criminal mediator who flees the United States after a mediation goes sideways and takes on a false identity as the Rev. Mackenzie “Mack” Boyd. He winds up in Clump, Australia, a small, eccentric beach town, and has to keep up the facade of being ...
Donnell will star in a Peacock drama called Irreverent that’s set to begin production in Australia soon. The series will also feature Pj Byrne, Kylie Bracknell, Briallen Clarke, Tegan Stimson, Ed Oxenbould, Wayne Blair, Russell Dykstra, Calen Tassone and Jason Wilder.
Donnell will play Paulo Keegan, a criminal mediator who flees the United States after a mediation goes sideways and takes on a false identity as the Rev. Mackenzie “Mack” Boyd. He winds up in Clump, Australia, a small, eccentric beach town, and has to keep up the facade of being ...
- 9/22/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Chicago Med and Arrow alum Colin Donnell is headed Down Under.
Donnell will star in a Peacock drama called Irreverent that’s set to begin production in Australia soon. The series will also feature Pj Byrne, Kylie Bracknell, Briallen Clarke, Tegan Stimson, Ed Oxenbould, Wayne Blair, Russell Dykstra, Calen Tassone and Jason Wilder.
Donnell will play Paulo Keegan, a criminal mediator who flees the United States after a mediation goes sideways and takes on a false identity as the Rev. Mackenzie “Mack” Boyd. He winds up in Clump, Australia, a small, eccentric beach town, and has to keep up the facade of being ...
Donnell will star in a Peacock drama called Irreverent that’s set to begin production in Australia soon. The series will also feature Pj Byrne, Kylie Bracknell, Briallen Clarke, Tegan Stimson, Ed Oxenbould, Wayne Blair, Russell Dykstra, Calen Tassone and Jason Wilder.
Donnell will play Paulo Keegan, a criminal mediator who flees the United States after a mediation goes sideways and takes on a false identity as the Rev. Mackenzie “Mack” Boyd. He winds up in Clump, Australia, a small, eccentric beach town, and has to keep up the facade of being ...
- 9/22/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Richard Roxburgh in Rake.
Rake Season 4 will hit Australian screens on May 19 with guest appearances from Miriam Margolyes, John Waters, Rhys Muldoon and Rachel Blake.
Co-creator and producer Richard Roxburgh is back as Cleaver Greene, last seen dangling from a balloon drifting across the Sydney skyline..
This time, Cleaver crashes into the world of a one-time mentor and now powerful criminal on the run, Edgar Thompson (Waters)..
Against the backdrop of a city that.s taken a turn to the dystopian, Cleaver frantically tries to stay alive — from seeking refuge in a country town congregation, to representing the very man who.s trying to have him killed.
Season 4 of Rake continues to cast Cleaver.s wit on politics, the legal system, and our wider fears and obsessions..
His long-suffering friends, relatives, and pugnacious foes also return in the form of Matt Day, Danielle Cormack, Russell Dykstra, Caroline Brazier, Adrienne Pickering,...
Rake Season 4 will hit Australian screens on May 19 with guest appearances from Miriam Margolyes, John Waters, Rhys Muldoon and Rachel Blake.
Co-creator and producer Richard Roxburgh is back as Cleaver Greene, last seen dangling from a balloon drifting across the Sydney skyline..
This time, Cleaver crashes into the world of a one-time mentor and now powerful criminal on the run, Edgar Thompson (Waters)..
Against the backdrop of a city that.s taken a turn to the dystopian, Cleaver frantically tries to stay alive — from seeking refuge in a country town congregation, to representing the very man who.s trying to have him killed.
Season 4 of Rake continues to cast Cleaver.s wit on politics, the legal system, and our wider fears and obsessions..
His long-suffering friends, relatives, and pugnacious foes also return in the form of Matt Day, Danielle Cormack, Russell Dykstra, Caroline Brazier, Adrienne Pickering,...
- 4/26/2016
- by Staff Writer
- IF.com.au
Rake Series 4 has started production in Sydney with Miriam Margolyes, John Waters and Rachael Blake joining the cast.
Co-creator and producer Richard Roxburgh is back as Cleaver Greene, who was seen dangling from a balloon drifting across the Sydney skyline..
This time, Cleaver crashes into the world of a one-time mentor and now powerful criminal on the run, Edgar Thompson (Waters)..
Against the backdrop of a city that.s taken a turn to the dystopian, Cleaver frantically tries to stay alive . from seeking refuge in a country town congregation, to representing the very man who.s trying to have him killed.
Season 4 of Rake continues to cast Cleaver.s rapier wit on politics, the legal system, and our wider fears and obsessions..
His long-suffering friends, relatives, and pugnacious foes also return in the form of Matt Day, Danielle Cormack, Russell Dykstra, Caroline Brazier, Adrienne Pickering, Keegan Joyce, Kate Box, and Damien Garvey.
Co-creator and producer Richard Roxburgh is back as Cleaver Greene, who was seen dangling from a balloon drifting across the Sydney skyline..
This time, Cleaver crashes into the world of a one-time mentor and now powerful criminal on the run, Edgar Thompson (Waters)..
Against the backdrop of a city that.s taken a turn to the dystopian, Cleaver frantically tries to stay alive . from seeking refuge in a country town congregation, to representing the very man who.s trying to have him killed.
Season 4 of Rake continues to cast Cleaver.s rapier wit on politics, the legal system, and our wider fears and obsessions..
His long-suffering friends, relatives, and pugnacious foes also return in the form of Matt Day, Danielle Cormack, Russell Dykstra, Caroline Brazier, Adrienne Pickering, Keegan Joyce, Kate Box, and Damien Garvey.
- 9/29/2015
- by Inside Film Correspondent
- IF.com.au
The Us version of Rake, which stars Greg Kinnear as brilliant, womanising and self-destructive criminal lawyer Keegan Deane, will screen on the rebranded Universal Channel on Foxtel.
Due to a holdback agreement with the ABC, the Us show cannot screen in Oz until after the third series of the Australian Rake airs on the public broadcaster. The remake premieres on Fox at 10 pm on Sunday January 19 with a strong lead-in, the Nfc Championship Game, and will then screen on Thursday nights at 9.
Peter Duncan, who co-created the original series with Richard Roxburgh and Charles Waterstreet, tells If the holdback agreement is not an issue, noting, .The ABC has been pretty generous. The Us series won.t finish screening until April. I am not sure when the new series will go to air in Australia but I believe it.s late February, so it.s not going to be a massive imposition.
Due to a holdback agreement with the ABC, the Us show cannot screen in Oz until after the third series of the Australian Rake airs on the public broadcaster. The remake premieres on Fox at 10 pm on Sunday January 19 with a strong lead-in, the Nfc Championship Game, and will then screen on Thursday nights at 9.
Peter Duncan, who co-created the original series with Richard Roxburgh and Charles Waterstreet, tells If the holdback agreement is not an issue, noting, .The ABC has been pretty generous. The Us series won.t finish screening until April. I am not sure when the new series will go to air in Australia but I believe it.s late February, so it.s not going to be a massive imposition.
- 11/3/2013
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
An Australian broadcaster is poised to acquire the Us version of Rake, which stars Greg Kinnear as brilliant, womanising and self-destructive criminal lawyer Keegan Deane.
Due to a holdback agreement with the ABC, the Us show cannot screen in Oz until after the third series of the Australian Rake airs on the public broadcaster. The remake premieres on Fox at 10 pm on Sunday January 19 with a strong lead-in, the Nfc Championship Game, and will then screen on Thursday nights at 9.
.There is an Australian deal in the offing,. Peter Duncan, who co-created the original series with Richard Roxburgh, tells If on the line from Los Angeles, where he is co-executive producing Fox.s version with Peter Tolan.
Duncan would not be drawn on the likely Australian buyer but he acknowledged the Us networks. hour-long format - each episode runs 42 ½ minutes, whereas the Australian eps are 57 minutes- is hard for the...
Due to a holdback agreement with the ABC, the Us show cannot screen in Oz until after the third series of the Australian Rake airs on the public broadcaster. The remake premieres on Fox at 10 pm on Sunday January 19 with a strong lead-in, the Nfc Championship Game, and will then screen on Thursday nights at 9.
.There is an Australian deal in the offing,. Peter Duncan, who co-created the original series with Richard Roxburgh, tells If on the line from Los Angeles, where he is co-executive producing Fox.s version with Peter Tolan.
Duncan would not be drawn on the likely Australian buyer but he acknowledged the Us networks. hour-long format - each episode runs 42 ½ minutes, whereas the Australian eps are 57 minutes- is hard for the...
- 11/3/2013
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
ABC telemovie An Accidental Soldier looks set to be sold to multiple territories after London-based Dcd Rights acquired the international distribution rights.
Dcd Rights will introduce the film to international buyers at the Mipcom market in Cannes which runs October 7-10. The firm has an impressive track record in selling Australian dramas and comedies including Rake, The Slap, Mr & Mrs Murder, The Straits, The Strange Calls and A Moody Christmas.
Directed by Rachel Ward and produced by Goalpost Pictures and Taylor Media, An Accidental Soldier starred Dan Spielman, Marie Brunel, Bryan Brown and Julia Zemiro.
Set during WW1 and scripted by Blake Ayshford and based on the book Silent Parts by John Charalambous, it.s the tale of a romance between a young Australian baker who deserted the front line and a grieving French woman who risks her life by sheltering him from the authorities.
Meanwhile, the third season of...
Dcd Rights will introduce the film to international buyers at the Mipcom market in Cannes which runs October 7-10. The firm has an impressive track record in selling Australian dramas and comedies including Rake, The Slap, Mr & Mrs Murder, The Straits, The Strange Calls and A Moody Christmas.
Directed by Rachel Ward and produced by Goalpost Pictures and Taylor Media, An Accidental Soldier starred Dan Spielman, Marie Brunel, Bryan Brown and Julia Zemiro.
Set during WW1 and scripted by Blake Ayshford and based on the book Silent Parts by John Charalambous, it.s the tale of a romance between a young Australian baker who deserted the front line and a grieving French woman who risks her life by sheltering him from the authorities.
Meanwhile, the third season of...
- 9/29/2013
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Sandra Chipchase, CEO, Destination Nsw today introduced to the media the seven actors who will play the lovable and bizarre characters who make up the deliriously delightful Addams Family. The members of the Addams Family are John Waters as Gomez Addams, Chloe Dallimore as Morticia Addams, Russell Dykstra as Fester Addams, Teagan Wouters as Wednesday Addams, Ben Hudson as Lurch, Meredith OReilly as Grandma Addams and Liam Faulkner-Dimond as Pugsley Addams. The production will open at the Capitol Theatre, Sydney in March 2013.
- 8/21/2012
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Series two of Australian drama Rake begins shooting in Sydney in April.
The series, which first aired on ABC1 in 2010, stars Richard Roxburgh (Moulin Rouge, Blue Murder) as self-destructive criminal defence barrister Cleaver Greene.
Producer/director Peter Duncan said it was great to be back in production. "Once again we have an opportunity to channel our various depravities into Cleaver . rather than exercise them ourselves. This is a considerable relief for our friends and loved ones,. he said in a statement.
Indeed it is, as Cleaver.s debaucherous private life continues in series two. The series will see Cleaver engaged in a passionate affair with a dangerous liaison, stories of suicide bombers and psychotic schoolgirls, as well as a .pedantic chameleon. and an alleged .serial bobbitter..
The new series will see several actors returning including Matt Day (Tangle) as David Potter; Russell Dykstra (Romulus, My Father) as Barney, Cleaver.s...
The series, which first aired on ABC1 in 2010, stars Richard Roxburgh (Moulin Rouge, Blue Murder) as self-destructive criminal defence barrister Cleaver Greene.
Producer/director Peter Duncan said it was great to be back in production. "Once again we have an opportunity to channel our various depravities into Cleaver . rather than exercise them ourselves. This is a considerable relief for our friends and loved ones,. he said in a statement.
Indeed it is, as Cleaver.s debaucherous private life continues in series two. The series will see Cleaver engaged in a passionate affair with a dangerous liaison, stories of suicide bombers and psychotic schoolgirls, as well as a .pedantic chameleon. and an alleged .serial bobbitter..
The new series will see several actors returning including Matt Day (Tangle) as David Potter; Russell Dykstra (Romulus, My Father) as Barney, Cleaver.s...
- 2/12/2012
- by Fay Al-Janabi
- IF.com.au
Clips from Oranges and Sunshine, starring Emily Watson. The scripted by Rona Munro, opens October 28th via Cohen Media Group with a cast including Emily Watson, Hugo Weaving, David Wenham, Tara Morice, Lorraine Ashbourne, Clayton Watson, Aisling Loftus, Richard Dillane, Ruth Rickman and Russell Dykstra. TV helmer Jim Loach, known for "Bad Girls," Footballer's Wives" and "Hotel Babylon," makes his feature directorial debut on the project which opens October 28th. Oranges and Sunshine tells the story of Margaret Humphreys, a social worker from Nottingham, who uncovered one of the most significant social scandals in recent times: the forced migration of children from the United Kingdom. Almost singlehandedly, against overwhelming odds and with little regard for her own well-being, Margaret reunited thousands of families, brought authorities to account and worldwide attention to an extraordinary miscarriage of justice.
- 10/26/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Clips from Oranges and Sunshine, starring Emily Watson. The scripted by Rona Munro, opens October 28th via Cohen Media Group with a cast including Emily Watson, Hugo Weaving, David Wenham, Tara Morice, Lorraine Ashbourne, Clayton Watson, Aisling Loftus, Richard Dillane, Ruth Rickman and Russell Dykstra. TV helmer Jim Loach, known for "Bad Girls," Footballer's Wives" and "Hotel Babylon," makes his feature directorial debut on the project which opens October 28th. Oranges and Sunshine tells the story of Margaret Humphreys, a social worker from Nottingham, who uncovered one of the most significant social scandals in recent times: the forced migration of children from the United Kingdom. Almost singlehandedly, against overwhelming odds and with little regard for her own well-being, Margaret reunited thousands of families, brought authorities to account and worldwide attention to an extraordinary miscarriage of justice.
- 10/26/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
The inaugural Equity Awards will tonight celebrate achievements in ensemble perfomances for both drama and comedy.
In a ceremony at Sydney’s Ivy Penthouse, the Equity Awards are the only acting awards voted on by their performing peers, members of the Actors Equity.
The cast of Rake won the Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble Cast in Drama Series, while The Librarians won for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble Cast in a comedy series.
Rake cast members to receive the award are: Richard Roxburgh, Kate Box, Caroline Brazier, Richard Carter, Danielle Cormack, Matt Day, Russell Dykstra, Keegan Joyce, Steve Le Marquand, Geoff Morrell and Adrienne Pickering.
Rake was nominated alongside Bed of Roses, Offspring, Packed to the Rafters and Underbelly: The Golden Mile.
Librarians cast members to receive the award are: Heidi Arena, Stephen Ballantyne, Keith Brockett, Robyn Butler, Victoria Eagger, Bob Franklin, Justin Hamilton, Roz Hammond, Fiona Harris, Wayne Hope,...
In a ceremony at Sydney’s Ivy Penthouse, the Equity Awards are the only acting awards voted on by their performing peers, members of the Actors Equity.
The cast of Rake won the Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble Cast in Drama Series, while The Librarians won for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble Cast in a comedy series.
Rake cast members to receive the award are: Richard Roxburgh, Kate Box, Caroline Brazier, Richard Carter, Danielle Cormack, Matt Day, Russell Dykstra, Keegan Joyce, Steve Le Marquand, Geoff Morrell and Adrienne Pickering.
Rake was nominated alongside Bed of Roses, Offspring, Packed to the Rafters and Underbelly: The Golden Mile.
Librarians cast members to receive the award are: Heidi Arena, Stephen Ballantyne, Keith Brockett, Robyn Butler, Victoria Eagger, Bob Franklin, Justin Hamilton, Roz Hammond, Fiona Harris, Wayne Hope,...
- 6/15/2011
- by Colin Delaney
- Encore Magazine
This review was written for the festival screening of "Romulus, My Father".No one could accuse Aussie actor Richard Roxburgh of being chicken.
For his directing debut, he's tackled a hard-sell downer of a tale about a migrant family living a hardscrabble existence in the Australian bush near the end of WWII.
Incredibly, like the great Shakespearean tragedies, "Romulus, My Father" manages to transcend a wretched pile-up of calamities -- suicide, infidelity, madness -- and emerge as a work of melancholic beauty.
Credit unfaltering performances by Eric Bana, Franka Potente and limpid-eyed newcomer Kodi Smit-McPhee, as well as Roxburgh's decision to echo the restraint of the stripped-back memoir upon which the drama is based.
"Romulus" is a beacon of sensitive filmmaking in what's lately been a fairly bleak local landscape. Its raw emotional power could also translate effortlessly to an international arthouse audience.
The memoir of Australian moral philosopher Raimond Gaita, adapted for the screen by poet Nick Drake, recounts a childhood uneasily balanced between the hard-working integrity of his father and the erratic behavior of his chronically promiscuous mother.
Smit-McPhee plays Raimond as an 8 year old, who suffers through more than a little boy should.
His beautiful mother, Christina (Potente), treats their bare-bones home in country Victoria like a hotel, dropping in unannounced whenever one of her big-city affairs peters out.
Romulus (Bana) is a poor blacksmith from Eastern Europe struggling to scrape together a living in an often hostile environment. His great love for his wife lends him a capacity for forgiveness that seems saint-like.
He's not a saint, of course, but he's a good man and -- barring the odd violent explosion of pent-up emotion -- provides a strong role model for his son.
The screenplay is frugal with dialogue, and positively stingy with exposition.
Roxburgh, who has had success as a stage director, makes terrific use of stillness and is a master at just letting his characters be.
The expressive silences between father and son are companionable, then strained as Christina's casual infidelities and reckless neglect of her family take their toll.
Letters from his absent wife turn up at the farm sporadically, each one a fresh assault on Romulus' heart.
Bana is a soulful actor and his stricken looks cut deep as Romulus learns that Christina has hooked up with his good friend Mitru (Russell Dykstra), then that she's moving in with him, and later that she's having his baby.
Cracks start to show in Romulus' stoicism; pushed to the limit after hosting Christina and her new lover in his home, a suicidal burst of speed on his motorbike leaves him in hospital with a broken leg.
The arrival of baby Susan plunges the unstable Christina into a debilitating depression and puts further weight on Raimond's young shoulders as he steps in to look after his half-sister.
Two suicides and a crushing betrayal finally get the better of Romulus and his descent into madness leaves the child stripped of the buffer that shielded him from the hardest knocks.
This laundry list of affliction sounds heavy going. Yet it's testament to the talent involved that "Romulus" emerges as a strangely uplifting tale of a rock-solid father-son bond.
Lightening the load are exuberant bursts of gallantry, from stalwart family friend, Hora (a terrific Marton Csokas), and humor, from a hobo pal (Jacek Koman) with an unconventional way of cooking eggs.
The subject matter may be weighty and often painful, but the film is truly beautiful to look at.
The period detail is flawless but not overt. And, while cinematographer Geoffrey Simpson bathes everything in a tawny glow, the sparse-leaved gums and scattered granite boulders give the landscape a haunting austerity.
ROMULUS, MY FATHER
Arclight Films
Arenafilm
Credits:
Director: Richard Roxburgh
Writer: Nick Drake
Producers: Robert Connolly and John Maynard
Executive producers: Andrew Myer, Gary Hamilton and Victor Syrmis
Director of photography: Geoffrey Simpson
Production designer: Robert Cousins
Music: Basil Hogios
Costume designer: Jodie Fried
Editor: Suresh Ayyar
Cast:
Romulus: Eric Bana
Christina: Franka Potente
Hora: Marton Csokas
Rai: Kodi Smit-McPhee
Mitru: Russell Dykstra
Vacek: Jacek Koman
Running time -- 103 minutes
No MPAA rating...
For his directing debut, he's tackled a hard-sell downer of a tale about a migrant family living a hardscrabble existence in the Australian bush near the end of WWII.
Incredibly, like the great Shakespearean tragedies, "Romulus, My Father" manages to transcend a wretched pile-up of calamities -- suicide, infidelity, madness -- and emerge as a work of melancholic beauty.
Credit unfaltering performances by Eric Bana, Franka Potente and limpid-eyed newcomer Kodi Smit-McPhee, as well as Roxburgh's decision to echo the restraint of the stripped-back memoir upon which the drama is based.
"Romulus" is a beacon of sensitive filmmaking in what's lately been a fairly bleak local landscape. Its raw emotional power could also translate effortlessly to an international arthouse audience.
The memoir of Australian moral philosopher Raimond Gaita, adapted for the screen by poet Nick Drake, recounts a childhood uneasily balanced between the hard-working integrity of his father and the erratic behavior of his chronically promiscuous mother.
Smit-McPhee plays Raimond as an 8 year old, who suffers through more than a little boy should.
His beautiful mother, Christina (Potente), treats their bare-bones home in country Victoria like a hotel, dropping in unannounced whenever one of her big-city affairs peters out.
Romulus (Bana) is a poor blacksmith from Eastern Europe struggling to scrape together a living in an often hostile environment. His great love for his wife lends him a capacity for forgiveness that seems saint-like.
He's not a saint, of course, but he's a good man and -- barring the odd violent explosion of pent-up emotion -- provides a strong role model for his son.
The screenplay is frugal with dialogue, and positively stingy with exposition.
Roxburgh, who has had success as a stage director, makes terrific use of stillness and is a master at just letting his characters be.
The expressive silences between father and son are companionable, then strained as Christina's casual infidelities and reckless neglect of her family take their toll.
Letters from his absent wife turn up at the farm sporadically, each one a fresh assault on Romulus' heart.
Bana is a soulful actor and his stricken looks cut deep as Romulus learns that Christina has hooked up with his good friend Mitru (Russell Dykstra), then that she's moving in with him, and later that she's having his baby.
Cracks start to show in Romulus' stoicism; pushed to the limit after hosting Christina and her new lover in his home, a suicidal burst of speed on his motorbike leaves him in hospital with a broken leg.
The arrival of baby Susan plunges the unstable Christina into a debilitating depression and puts further weight on Raimond's young shoulders as he steps in to look after his half-sister.
Two suicides and a crushing betrayal finally get the better of Romulus and his descent into madness leaves the child stripped of the buffer that shielded him from the hardest knocks.
This laundry list of affliction sounds heavy going. Yet it's testament to the talent involved that "Romulus" emerges as a strangely uplifting tale of a rock-solid father-son bond.
Lightening the load are exuberant bursts of gallantry, from stalwart family friend, Hora (a terrific Marton Csokas), and humor, from a hobo pal (Jacek Koman) with an unconventional way of cooking eggs.
The subject matter may be weighty and often painful, but the film is truly beautiful to look at.
The period detail is flawless but not overt. And, while cinematographer Geoffrey Simpson bathes everything in a tawny glow, the sparse-leaved gums and scattered granite boulders give the landscape a haunting austerity.
ROMULUS, MY FATHER
Arclight Films
Arenafilm
Credits:
Director: Richard Roxburgh
Writer: Nick Drake
Producers: Robert Connolly and John Maynard
Executive producers: Andrew Myer, Gary Hamilton and Victor Syrmis
Director of photography: Geoffrey Simpson
Production designer: Robert Cousins
Music: Basil Hogios
Costume designer: Jodie Fried
Editor: Suresh Ayyar
Cast:
Romulus: Eric Bana
Christina: Franka Potente
Hora: Marton Csokas
Rai: Kodi Smit-McPhee
Mitru: Russell Dykstra
Vacek: Jacek Koman
Running time -- 103 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 5/29/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Australian filmmaker Alex Proyas, famed for the high-style visual flair showcased in his cult successes "The Crow" and "Dark City", turns his highly developed eye to the gritty Sydney music scene in "Garage Days". Despite the straightforward drive of the screenplay (co-written by Proyas with Michael Udesky and musician Dave Warner), Proyas can't help bringing his visual pyrotechnics to bear on its very flimsy story.
There's a lot to like about "Garage Days", but the 20th Century Fox-backed film might have worked better if it had stuck a little closer to the spirit of its title. Its smooth, high-style finish is totally at odds with the straight-up lack of ambition in the script.
Freddy (Kick Gurry), Tanya (Pia Miranda), Joe (Brett Stiller) and Lucy (Chris Sadrinna) all have tedious daytime lives. At night, they come alive as a band, bashing away for hours and trying to get a spot on a Sydney stage -- any stage.
Clueless manager Bruno (Russell Dykstra) is no help, so bandleader Freddy takes charge by making the most of a coincidental meeting with Shad Kern (Marton Csokas), the biggest band manager in the country. Freddy also has trouble in the romance department, torn between feelings for his bass player Tanya and his guitarist's winsome girlfriend, Kate (Maya Stange).
Proyas indulges in slow motion, freeze frames, varying film stock and a multitude of shooting processes in a way that smacks of narcissism. "Garage Days" has an irreverence that's equally forced; injections of sex and drugs seem there solely to grab a young audience.
The film's detour into drug experimentation is sadly clubfooted. In trying to create an air of libertine cool, Proyas succeeds in looking like someone who's trying too hard. All attempts at raunchy sex escapades, including some light bondage, go down a similarly misguided road.
The film's pileup of styles is only equaled by its wildly divergent performances. Gurry struggles within the bland strictures of leading-man status, while Miranda pushes sassiness just a little too far. Newcomer Sadrinna, as the drugged-out drummer, is just plain weird. Stiller, a handsome and commanding presence as the band's brooding guitarist, gets saddled with the film's most absurd sub-plot, which has him playing papa to a rockmelon to prove to his girlfriend he'd make a good father. Stange, though, is captivating and magnetic at every turn.
The best performance comes from Csokas ("XXX"), who mixes equal parts broad humor and sexy edginess to steal every scene he's in as the sleazy band manager.
GARAGE DAYS
Fox Searchlight Pictures
Mystery Clock Cinema Prods. in association with Fox Searchlight Pictures and the Australian Film Finance Corp.
Credits:
Director: Alex Proyas
Screenwriters: Alex Proyas, Michael Udesky, Dave Warner
Producers: Alex Proyas, Topher Dow
Director of photography: Simon Duggan
Production designer: Michael Philips
Editor: Richard Learoyd
Music: David McCormack, Andrew Lancaster, Antony Partos
Cast:
Freddy: Kick Gurry
Tanya: Pia Miranda
Joe: Brett Stiller
Lucy: Chris Sadrinna
Shad Kern: Marton Csokas
Kate: Maya Stange
Bruno: Russell Dykstra
Kevin: Andy Anderson
Running time -- 90 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
There's a lot to like about "Garage Days", but the 20th Century Fox-backed film might have worked better if it had stuck a little closer to the spirit of its title. Its smooth, high-style finish is totally at odds with the straight-up lack of ambition in the script.
Freddy (Kick Gurry), Tanya (Pia Miranda), Joe (Brett Stiller) and Lucy (Chris Sadrinna) all have tedious daytime lives. At night, they come alive as a band, bashing away for hours and trying to get a spot on a Sydney stage -- any stage.
Clueless manager Bruno (Russell Dykstra) is no help, so bandleader Freddy takes charge by making the most of a coincidental meeting with Shad Kern (Marton Csokas), the biggest band manager in the country. Freddy also has trouble in the romance department, torn between feelings for his bass player Tanya and his guitarist's winsome girlfriend, Kate (Maya Stange).
Proyas indulges in slow motion, freeze frames, varying film stock and a multitude of shooting processes in a way that smacks of narcissism. "Garage Days" has an irreverence that's equally forced; injections of sex and drugs seem there solely to grab a young audience.
The film's detour into drug experimentation is sadly clubfooted. In trying to create an air of libertine cool, Proyas succeeds in looking like someone who's trying too hard. All attempts at raunchy sex escapades, including some light bondage, go down a similarly misguided road.
The film's pileup of styles is only equaled by its wildly divergent performances. Gurry struggles within the bland strictures of leading-man status, while Miranda pushes sassiness just a little too far. Newcomer Sadrinna, as the drugged-out drummer, is just plain weird. Stiller, a handsome and commanding presence as the band's brooding guitarist, gets saddled with the film's most absurd sub-plot, which has him playing papa to a rockmelon to prove to his girlfriend he'd make a good father. Stange, though, is captivating and magnetic at every turn.
The best performance comes from Csokas ("XXX"), who mixes equal parts broad humor and sexy edginess to steal every scene he's in as the sleazy band manager.
GARAGE DAYS
Fox Searchlight Pictures
Mystery Clock Cinema Prods. in association with Fox Searchlight Pictures and the Australian Film Finance Corp.
Credits:
Director: Alex Proyas
Screenwriters: Alex Proyas, Michael Udesky, Dave Warner
Producers: Alex Proyas, Topher Dow
Director of photography: Simon Duggan
Production designer: Michael Philips
Editor: Richard Learoyd
Music: David McCormack, Andrew Lancaster, Antony Partos
Cast:
Freddy: Kick Gurry
Tanya: Pia Miranda
Joe: Brett Stiller
Lucy: Chris Sadrinna
Shad Kern: Marton Csokas
Kate: Maya Stange
Bruno: Russell Dykstra
Kevin: Andy Anderson
Running time -- 90 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 10/21/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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