Impressive talent on show in tough Aussie film, 1%
I’VE always been an advocate for good Australian films and although this is a tough one it has a lot of talent, not least in leading man Matt Nable who wrote the screenplay.
He’s Knuck, president of the Outlaws motorcycle gang, currently residing in prison.
His second-in-command is Paddo (Ryan Corr in yet another excellent performance) who has been trying to steer the club into more legal activities with rival gang leader Sugar (Aaron Pedersen, another consistently strong performer).
But, like Lady Macbeth, Knuck’s woman Hayley (Simone Kessell) has been visiting him in gaol, stirring him up about Paddo taking over the gang while he’s incarcerated.
On the other side, Katrina (Abbey Lee) has her sights set firmly on Paddo’s ascendancy.
The scene is set for a showdown when Knuck emerges from prison, particularly when Paddo’s brother, the emotionally and intellectually challenged Skink (Josh McConville) gets involved in activities that are strictly forbidden by Knuck.
So you have a power play evolving with conflicting loyalties and, particularly with Knuck, conflicting desires.
It’s a powerhouse performance from Matt Nable, but he’s surrounded by a really solid cast, and although I’ve singled out both Corr and Pedersen for praise, the women hold their own in this very male-dominated world and Simone Kessell and Abbey Lee make the roles their own.
It is a confronting film, it’s a violent world we’re entering here, but at the same time it is a nuanced and emotionally complex experience.
There are Shakespearean and Steinbeckian overtones that resonate.
It’s the work of first-time director Stephen McCallum, working with cinematographer Shelley Farthing-Dawe and veteran editor Veronika Jenet, and it’s an impressive debut from McCallum.
But full credit to Matt Nable for bringing his talent, not only as an actor but also as a writer, to this powerful piece of cinema.