SAVAGE

4 SEPTEMBER DIRECTOR Sam Kelly

CAST Jake Ryan, John Tui, Chelsie Preston Crayford

Ripped from real-life stories, Sam Kelly’s debut charts the rise of a white man, Danny (Jake Ryan), in Maori street gang The Savages, in a grim but engaging takedown of toxic masculinity. Kelly employs flashbacks — Danny (Olly Presling) in borstal in the ’60s, as a gang sergeant (James Matamua) in the ’70s — to flesh out Danny’s arc as he rises through the ranks of The Savages to ulitmately lead them with childhood pal Moses (John Tui). The ideas around gang loyalty are familiar but, within the C-bombs and brutal violence, there are moments when the characters are given room to breathe that lends it a freshness, particularly in the relationship between Danny and Moses. A promising debut. IF