![]() Things become even more complicated when the two are revealed to have been more than just friends, and Merv is torn between protecting the life he has now and resisting the one he tried to leave behind.Īs a thriller, the film is fairly by the numbers. ![]() Merv must protect his world as Pommie attempts to weasel his way in under the cover of a friendly guise, all while Paula and her friend (Megan Holloway) fall for his charms. Yet, as Pommie becomes more irate, his violent acts escalate into more vicious attacks, increasing Merv’s desperation to get rid of him. A pair of brutish police men who come in and out of the story add some extra drama, but their inclusion is a bit underdeveloped and serve only to be familiar faces at the story’s end. There’s still some solid tension built throughout though, thanks mainly to Stapleton’s menace, and later his vulnerability as a man whose heart is broken, which is the film’s true highlight. De Gouw does well not to fall into a passive position as the unsuspecting girlfriend, and brings a bit of fire to what could have been a rather bland role. Similarly, Russell was a smart choice for a tormented soul contrasted with boyish good looks. While some audiences may see more to the men’s relationship earlier on, when it’s sexual nature is revealed, it completely subverts perception of the pairs previous motivations throughout. But while the twist of their relationship makes this more than you’re standard thriller outing, the film is rather unequipped to service a storyline such as this properly. There are obvious parallels to make to films like Animal Kingdom (also starring Stapleton) and Brokeback Mountain, which both dealt with similar themes. But Cut Snake lacks the dramatic rawness of the former film, and the commitment to flesh out its characters as the latter did. ![]() Instead, Ayres tries to have his cake and eat it too, by dipping his toes into controversial waters but remaining unwilling to fully submerge in them so that he can still cling to his macho-action thriller genre. There’s certainly an attempt to be original here, but the film is just a tad too glossy to be a valid depiction of real life, which makes it play more as a new segment of Underbelly than a social drama with substance. With three talented stars, it’s disappointing that the film didn’t strive to be more than it is, as it’s apparent that they would have been more than capable of rising to the challenge. It doesn’t help also, that the connection Merv has with Pommie is never made quite clear, and it hinders any emotional investment the audience could have in their relationship. Was Merv’s relationship with Pommie a complete one-off experience? Or was it a larger issue, where Merv was bisexual, possibly homosexual, and was suppressing his feelings for other men? Or was he only with Pommie for safety in prison and never actually had any romantic feelings? Even after a momentary lapse where the two reunite passionately, it’s hard to tell exactly what Merv is feeling because the film never explores it. These are the questions that the film chooses to brush over, which undermine any scene centred on the ex-lovers.
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