The Snowtown Murders (2011)

Based on true events, 16 year-old Jamie falls in with his mother's new boyfriend and his crowd of self-appointed neighborhood watchmen, a relationship that leads to a spree of torture and murder.

Director:

Justin Kurzel

Writers:

Shaun Grant, Shaun Grant (story)

Stars:

Lucas Pittaway, Daniel Henshall, Louise Harris

23 wins & 23 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lucas Pittaway	...	Jamie Vlassakis
Bob Adriaens	...	Gavin
Louise Harris	...	Elizabeth Harvey
Frank Cwiertniak	...	Jeffrey
Matthew Howard	...	Nicholas
Marcus Howard	...	Alex
Anthony Groves	...	Troy
Richard Green	...	Barry
Aaron Viergever	...	Robert
Denis Davey	...	Guitar Player
Allan Chapple	...	Prayer Reader
Beau Gosling	...	David
Brendan Rock	...	Marcus
Bryan Sellars	...	Minister
Daniel Henshall	...	John Bunting

Storyline

Sixteen-year-old Jamie lives with his mother, Elizabeth, and two younger brothers, Alex and Nicholas, in a housing trust home in Adelaide's northern suburbs. Their home is but one of many sun-starved houses crammed together to cater for a disenfranchised society. Jamie longs for an escape from the violence and hopelessness that surrounds him and his salvation arrives in the form of John, a charismatic man who unexpectedly comes to his aid. As John spends more and more time with Jamie's family, Elizabeth and her boys begin to experience a stability and sense of family that they have never known. John moves from the role of Jamie's protector to that of a mentor, indoctrinating Jamie into his world, a world brimming with bigotry, righteousness and malice. Like a son mimicking his father, Jamie soon begins to take on some of John's traits and beliefs as he spends more and more time with him and his select group of friends. The protection and guidance that John presents to Jamie is ...

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Plot Keywords:

gang | emotionally unstable protagonist | mentally unstable protagonist | tortured to death | sociopathy | 

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Taglines:

Australia's most infamous crime story

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Genres:

Biography | Crime | Drama | Horror

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The game the brothers are heard to be playing at the beginning on the movie is 'Alex Kidd'. The console version is Sega Megadrive.

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Quotes

John Bunting: Do you like bein' fucked? Do you like bein' fucked? So why not do somethin' about it? 'Cause all I ever see you do is sook, mate. No? What didjah do about Jeffrey? Fuckin' nothin'. You see me and Robert mopin' about? Hmm? No you don't because you do that they fuck you forever. You don't want that, do you? When are you gonna grow some balls, mate?

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Connections

Featured in David Stratton's Stories of Australian Cinema (2017)

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Soundtracks

Happy Birthday To You
Traditional
Written by Mildred J. Hill and Patty S. Hill (as Paty Hill)

User Reviews

excellent example of gritty Australian realism

I agree with the other people who have written reviews who say that it is good to get some background on the murders as I watched this without any and was confused in parts. What is interesting is that the film makers either assumed that you would have this knowledge, or accepted that the plot would only partially be known. In that sense we really are like witnesses who aren't let in on all the facts - in a strange way keeping some of the plot details leads to the sense of claustrophobia in the film.

Snowtown is an excellent example of the genre of gritty Australian realism which includes films like The Boys and Idiot Box.

This reminded me a lot of The Boys in building tension slowly and I think the rhythm of the film was spot on. It was also similar in the sense that it suggested that poverty and a lack of opportunity lead to violence (not necessarily for Bunting but probably for the other characters). But I think this just reinforces prejudices about poverty that middle class people have.

I think that Jamie was a very good choice as a main character because he clearly had the most complex relationship with Bunting and what he was doing. As the audience we were also invited to have that relationship then

I was pretty surprised that the film only had an MA rating rather than R, particularly given the nature of the violence portrayed.

Details

Official Sites:

Adelaide Film Festival Investment Fund [Australia] Carver Films

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 May 2011 (Australia)

Also Known As:

The Snowtown Murders

Filming Locations:

Smithfield Plains, South Australia, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,273, 4 March 2012

Gross USA:

$8,452

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,349,387

Company Credits

Production Co:

Carver Films, Screen Australia, The South Australian Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1