shakercoola
Indigenous police detective returns to his home twon after qualifying as a detective. His first case is under resourced - the discovery of a teenager's body under a road used by truckers in outback New South Wales.
Mystery Road is a masterfully executed slice of storytelling which keeps the audience wondering as he follows his instincts to find out what is going. It's a slow-burner but Pedersen has a charisma and is very watchable.
One of the false notes is those he suspects don't do a good job of convincing him otherwise so there is some predictability.
Tom Dooley
Jay Swann (Aaron Pedersen) returns from the big city to take up the job of detective in a small outback town where he has grown up. His first case is that of a young Aboriginal girl who is found murdered. His boss makes it clear that he will be 'flying solo' as all his men are busy with other seemingly more important things.He is of mixed race and seems to be both outside his native community and not wholly accepted by the all white police force. He starts to dig for clues and finds that for a small outback town there seems to be an awful lot going on, from drugs to prostitution and he is never quite sure where anyone stands - including his fellow officers. He also has to deal with the remnants of his relationship with an estranged teenage daughter.This is a really good thriller and it kept me guessing right to the end, it did seem to have a few signposts as to who is Mr Guilty, but it is all cleverly done in a laid back yet calculated way. Pedersen as Swann puts in a rather good performance but there are some very entertaining support roles - especially the coroner who all add to the flavour. There is also a fair bit of barely veiled racism added to the mix. The locations are all perfect - so much so that you might miss out how much care has gone into some of the shots. This though is one of those films to see once because once you know the reveal then the real mystery is gone. Still a thriller from down under that had me gripped till the very end - recommended.
Abdul Wasey Tanweer
There is a class of film lovers who want to concede and live the eras of film making. Even though they were born in situations separated by time and space, they feel nostalgic about the early and subsequent industrial era diffusion (and its effects) brought in thru history, literature and cinema: The periods when homesteaders entered Dodge City, when London started getting crawled in by villagers or when families from a big city relocated to newly planned adjoining suburbs. If you identify with this description, you've probably got a treasure here.19th century Wild West lives in 21st century Bush! Not that it's uncreative; the history of filmography is etched in this 2 hours intelligent crime story. Referencing the classic westerns to earliest neo-noirs to recent crime features, the unknown director theoretically beautifies the Film making.The score is as quiet as the life itself while as intriguing as its characters. Unbelievably well photographed! Aerial shots and silhouette wides suit the mood of terror in an uncivil, dusty town with principal actors having a gem to showcase their worth. Screen writing concerned me a bit but that doesn't stop me from saying that if given a worldwide interest, I'm sure Australia will unbland the perceptions of Australianness and allow us into new realms of cinematic and cultural entertainment.
MartinHafer
My daughter suggested we see this film together. She told me she'd seen it and liked it but also felt like it might make more sense if she saw it again--and on a TV with captions instead of in the theater. This is because this Australian film is set in a very rural portion of Queensland, Australia and the language is very different for us. In other words, while they're speaking English, there are a lot of colloquial words and phrases she just didn't understand the first time she saw it and a few of the accents were a bit thick. I couldn't help her that much even though I spent a few weeks in Australia--this certainly didn't make me an expert on the country. Plus, all the time I was there I was in the much more cosmopolitan portions of New South Wales and Victoria. So for folks like us Americans, the film might pose a few challenges. My advice is still watch it--but try to bring along an Australian friend to help you understand everything that is occurring. Additionally, I should point out that the film is, at times, deliberately vague.The story is about a detective investigating the murder of a young Aboriginal girl. He is himself half Aboriginal and you get the impression that this is really important in the film--but exactly how is, again, something that might help to understand if you have Australians sitting with you watching. What exactly happened to the girl is difficult, as there aren't a lot of apparent clues. And when the big confrontation at the end occurs, you STILL aren't sure who is who (especially Hugo Weaving's character). Worth seeing but confusing and worth repeated views because of this.
AD
