SNOWTOWN is a true-life story about a serial killer and his associates who were prevalent in Australia during the 1990s. A low-key production that goes for gritty realism above everything else, the film this most reminded me of was HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER; it has the same level of harrowing and distressing subject matter while being incredibly powerful at the same time.
SNOWTOWN isn't quite up there on a level with HENRY - there are a few too many scenes of people sitting around and eating for a start - but it is an undeniably effective movie. The casual brutality of the movie will make this hard to sit through for many viewers, with the scene involving the dog being particularly gruelling; meanwhile, the bathtub sequence is one of the nastiest I've ever witnessed. Aside from these moments, the rest of the movie is surprisingly restrained, a slice-of-life exploration of how 'white trash' get on with their lives.
The acting is fine, particularly from Daniel Henshall in a star-making performance, and the script is very good. I wish there had been a little more resolution at the end but then you can't have everything. SNOWTOWN is about as far away as you can get from a mainstream Hollywood movie and it's all the more effective because of that. And I'll reiterate how incredibly grim it is: would I sit through it again? Not a chance!
SNOWTOWN isn't quite up there on a level with HENRY - there are a few too many scenes of people sitting around and eating for a start - but it is an undeniably effective movie. The casual brutality of the movie will make this hard to sit through for many viewers, with the scene involving the dog being particularly gruelling; meanwhile, the bathtub sequence is one of the nastiest I've ever witnessed. Aside from these moments, the rest of the movie is surprisingly restrained, a slice-of-life exploration of how 'white trash' get on with their lives.
The acting is fine, particularly from Daniel Henshall in a star-making performance, and the script is very good. I wish there had been a little more resolution at the end but then you can't have everything. SNOWTOWN is about as far away as you can get from a mainstream Hollywood movie and it's all the more effective because of that. And I'll reiterate how incredibly grim it is: would I sit through it again? Not a chance!