A few of us went to check out Ned Kelly a few days ago, and more
or less got what we expected. For those that are unfamiliar with
the story of Australia's most famous Bushranger ('outlaw'), Ned
Kelly lived in country Victoria (south-eastern Australia) between
1854 and 1880. The son of Irish immigrants, his family was
singled out for attention by the local police.
<Spoilers in this next paragraph!>
After killing a few policeman while being hunted down for horse
stealing, a huge sum was placed on his head. Rather than lie low,
the Kelly gang resorted to robbing banks etc. Ned was eventually
captured at the siege of Glenrowan, the other gang members
killed. He was hung at the Old Melbourne Gaol in 1880 amongst
considerable opposition. Since then Ned has become an Australian icon, due in no small part to the fact that the police force
at the time was highly corrupt and had (initially) persecuted his
family somewhat unjustifiably. For one last bit of trivia, in recent
times, sketchy evidence has come forward suggesting that it was
actually Ned's brother Dan that was captured at Glenrowan, and
that Ned escaped.
<Spoilers end here>
That said, this film takes huge liberties with the truth, and writes a
fair bit of its own history too in order to provide a completely
unobjective look at the history behind these events. The story is
fine as a work of fiction, but it needs to be stressed that the real
story is not nearly so black-and-white. Ned's family was known to
police because his father was a criminal, and Ned did kill several
policemen. It is hardly arguable that the police could let this matter
lie and let a 'cop killer' go.
Heath Ledger and Orlando Bloom do a great job with the script
they are given and provide very solid performances. Those of you
not native to Australia may enjoy some of the _many_ shots of
native flora and fauna that litter the movie too.
While I was entertained, I did find that, even as a work of fiction, the
one-sidedness of the 'good vs. evil' in the story was too much to
swallow. It would have been better if the script had taken some
more shades of grey into account (as the real characters no doubt
had!)
Overall I give this a 6/10.
or less got what we expected. For those that are unfamiliar with
the story of Australia's most famous Bushranger ('outlaw'), Ned
Kelly lived in country Victoria (south-eastern Australia) between
1854 and 1880. The son of Irish immigrants, his family was
singled out for attention by the local police.
<Spoilers in this next paragraph!>
After killing a few policeman while being hunted down for horse
stealing, a huge sum was placed on his head. Rather than lie low,
the Kelly gang resorted to robbing banks etc. Ned was eventually
captured at the siege of Glenrowan, the other gang members
killed. He was hung at the Old Melbourne Gaol in 1880 amongst
considerable opposition. Since then Ned has become an Australian icon, due in no small part to the fact that the police force
at the time was highly corrupt and had (initially) persecuted his
family somewhat unjustifiably. For one last bit of trivia, in recent
times, sketchy evidence has come forward suggesting that it was
actually Ned's brother Dan that was captured at Glenrowan, and
that Ned escaped.
<Spoilers end here>
That said, this film takes huge liberties with the truth, and writes a
fair bit of its own history too in order to provide a completely
unobjective look at the history behind these events. The story is
fine as a work of fiction, but it needs to be stressed that the real
story is not nearly so black-and-white. Ned's family was known to
police because his father was a criminal, and Ned did kill several
policemen. It is hardly arguable that the police could let this matter
lie and let a 'cop killer' go.
Heath Ledger and Orlando Bloom do a great job with the script
they are given and provide very solid performances. Those of you
not native to Australia may enjoy some of the _many_ shots of
native flora and fauna that litter the movie too.
While I was entertained, I did find that, even as a work of fiction, the
one-sidedness of the 'good vs. evil' in the story was too much to
swallow. It would have been better if the script had taken some
more shades of grey into account (as the real characters no doubt
had!)
Overall I give this a 6/10.