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Red Hill
| Released |
20 May 2011 |
| Director |
Patrick Hughes |
Starring
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Ryan Kwanten, Steve Bisley, Tommy Lewis, Claire van der Boom |
| Writer(s) |
Patrick Hughes |
| Producer(s) |
Al Clark, Patrick Hughes |
| Origin |
Australia |
| Running Time |
95 minutes |
| Genre |
Thriller, western |
| Rating |
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Revenge is a dish best served red.
Red Hill, directed by Patrick Hughes, is quite simply an excellent piece of filmmaking. It’s an engrossing, exciting film that leaves palms slick with sweat and tickers quite firmly in mouths for the duration.
It centres on Shane Cooper, a policeman who transfers to the Australian backwater town of Red Hill. On his first day reporting for duty, convicted murderer Jimmy Conway goes on the run prompting aggressive chief of police Old Bill to shut the town down.
Some films are either as slow as tar where you lose the will to draw breath and others so fast you haven’t a clue what’s going on but Red Hill moves along at a perfect, satisfying pace. It’s not one of those ridiculous action movies with cheap thrills and over the top effects either; the action is thrilling, but low key and realistic, making it more effective.
The characters are also well rounded and believable throughout, with performances from the central characters praiseworthy. I completely forgot Ryan Kwanten as that big eejit Vinny from Home & Away watching this and found his portrayal of Cooper tender, intelligent and vulnerable.
Steve Bisley plays a blinder as the abrasive and controlling Old Bill and Tom E. Lewis is outstanding as the terrifyingly deformed and violent Jimmy Conway. As Lewis uttered one line in the film, he proves only the finest actors don’t need dialogue to rely on to enhance their performances.
There’s no doubt Red Hill is a bloodlust-dripping vengeance flick, but since you have no idea until the end why Jimmy Conway is so damn pissed it’s a lot more than that. It’s got mystery, action, suspense and a few tear-jerking moments in there too and is packed full of emotional intelligence and moral questions to get you thinking.
Red Hill has been drawing comparisons to No Country for Old Men and yes, they do have a lot in common from the dark menacing cinematography, the ‘hunt’ element and tooled-up antagonists that would scare the pants off you. However, Red Hill wins; it’s got all the gory thriller stuff while managing to keep a lot of heart and humanity in there too. It has a nice little twist at the end also and we all love twists to be fair. I would highly recommend you catch it.
- Cynthia Bifolchi |
