TRUE HISTORY OF THE KELLY GANG
★★★★★
YOUNG Ned Kelly is doted upon by his manipulative and resourceful mother, Ellen (Essie Davis), who loses her weak-willed husband at the hands of scheming lawman Sergeant O’Neil (Charlie Hunnam).
The boy is forced to grow up before his time as man of the house and Ned learns to fend for himself with tutelage from gun-toting, gnarly bush ranger Harry Power (Russell Crowe).
As Ned comes of age (now played by George MacKay), he declares war on Constable Fitzpatrick (Nicholas Hoult) by forming a gang with his younger brother Dan (Earl Cave) and a couple of friends. Battle lines are drawn between the outlaws and Fitzpatrick’s heavily armed officers, culminating in a terrifying night-time shoot-out.
True History Of The Kelly Gang is an unremittingly grim and muscular interpretation of Peter Carey’s Booker
DARK WATER (12) (18)
★★★★★ MILD-MANNERED defence lawyer Robert Bilott (Mark Ruffalo) works at Taft Stettinius & Hollister, which represents some of America’s most powerful chemicals companies.
He receives a visit from farmer Wilbur Tennant (Bill Camp), who lives in Parkersburg, West Virginia. He is a neighbour of Rob’s grandmother and has been persuaded to deliver a cardboard box of videotapes to the Taft office, detailing the decimation of his cow herd on land adjoining a DuPont chemical plant.
Despite his heavy workload, Rob drives to Parkersburg to visit Wilbur and is horrified to learn the family has lost almost 200 animals.
With the blessing of his boss (Tim Robbins), Rob unearths evidence that the man-made PFOA chemical used in the production of Teflon might have leaked into Parkersburg’s water supply.
Prize-winning novel based loosely on the exploits of outlaw Ned Kelly and his gang in the late 19th century.
Australian director Justin Kurzel pulls no punches with explosions of graphic violence.
He also generates a heady homoerotic charge between a sinewy MacKay and brooding Hoult in the film’s most extraordinary sequence. The middle act sags but regains its footing with a visually arresting last stand.
■
Dark Waters is a slowburning thriller about a real-life fight for justice lasting more than 20 years.
Ruffalo transforms from muscular Avengers superhero to a hunched, harangued, jowly workaholic, while Oscar winner Anne Hathaway is poorly served in comparison as his on-screen spouse, who witnesses the heavy emotional burden borne by her husband.
■