A crime story. That’s what is says under the titles on the film’s poster. A crime story indeed, but a dark and twisted study into the nature of family, loyalty and guilt. This Australian thriller marks the feature debut of writer-director David Michôd, and is a rough retelling of the notorious Melbourne family felons the Pettingills, and their alleged involvement in the Walsh Street Police Shootings of 1988. Uncompromising and frequently bleak, it’s a raw scattershot of the underbelly of the land down under, with a growing tension played out against a sparse script.
The story follows Joshua “J” Cody, a 17 year-old who has just witnessed his mother overdosing on heroin, and some Sheila deciding not to deal with the banker on TV. Played by newcomer James Frecheville, J is an enigmatic lead, quiet and reserved, at times a seemingly dim-witted dolt caught up in a den of serious criminals. He moves into his grandmother Smurf’s home, where she slyly rules the roost, planting ideas in her three shady sons’ heads, and uncomfortably long kisses on their lips.
