Australia is a country in the throws of settlement by the English and lawlessness is rife. As the bloody clearing of aborigines continues, one gang's attack on a white family causes outrage. The pressure is on Captain Stanley to bring in the Burns gang, led by the sadistic and heartless Arthur. When Stanley's men capture the two younger brothers he strikes a deal with Charlie, the elder of the two. In nine days time, on Christmas Day, young Mike will hang unless Charlie has returned with his brother dead or alive.
The plot summary and the advertising seemed to offer some form of thriller but in reality the film delivers something altogether more interesting and memorable. Set in the Australia outback where settlements are being born and laws being established, the film charts the moral complexities of the good and bad in the story while painting a beautifully bleak backdrop of open space and bloody, pointless violence. It is not an easy film to watch and certainly not one to expect to come out of laughing or feeling good about things. Nor is it a film to go into expecting a traditional plot because it is this area where the film is at its weakest because it is not a "this happened, this happened then that happened" sort of story. This is not to say it is boring but it does require patience for the casual viewer. Personally I found most scenes to be interesting but most admit that the narrative kind of hangs around rather than moving forward firmly in one direction.
The substance is more in the characters than in the narrative and on this level it was engaging. Although the posters and summary will tell you this is about the Burns brothers, it is as much if not more about Stanley and his wife. It is he would has the duality of trying to defeat violence by encouraging it while also heaving under the burden of trying to take this job entirely on his own shoulders while protecting his wife from knowing anything about the real world out in the desert. It is an interesting thread and for my money it was the thrust of the story the issue of what Charlie will do is actually part of Stanley's story rather than the other way around. With this as the story the film is much better because it does paint a convincing tale around this. The Burns brothers thread is still interesting but less is done with it with Arthur himself being very little more than an enigmatic plot device.
Style wise the film is fantastic as it delivers a bleakly convincing picture of the birth of Australia. The landscape is beautifully filmed and, although Cave could have done more as writer, his contribution to the soundtrack is as welcome as it is well used. The sudden moments of violence are uncomfortable and difficult to watch. They are delivered in visceral moments of gore that are bereft of any touches that would glamorise the death; here it is horrible and full of flies. Of course you are right to note that a hauntingly stylish delivery should not be taken as a replacement for substance but I think it has just about enough of the latter and an abundance of the former to carry the film as a whole.
The cast are mixed but nobody really turns in a bad performance. Winstone dominates the film with easily the best performance and the most interesting character. His Captain Stanley wears every decision and Winstone allows us to see the effect this country has had on his soul. Watson is also good, simple at first but touched by the violence that her husband cannot defend her from. Pearce is an astute and subtle actor who keeps the audience with his thread even though it is less interesting; however Huston is not used as well as he deserved. He gives a memorable performance but his character is never more than an action waiting to happen. Wilson is convincingly young and his flogging is difficult to stomach, while Hurt turns up in a nice cameo as a bounty hunter. As much as the performances though, the film is about atmosphere, and Hillcoat has done a great job in producing a desolate film that is as beautiful as it is disheartening.
An imperfect film due to the lack of a strong narrative, this is still a memorable affair for many reasons. It looks great, has a great use of music and produces a haunting desolation in the country and the characters. Not a fun night out by any means but for what it is, it is well worth seeing.
