Brisbane - Australian Cinémathèque, Wednesday 17th, 6pm
Year
2005
Director
John Hillcoat
Running Time
104 minutes
Starring
Richard Wilson, Noah Taylor, Jeremy Madrona
Captain Stanley (Ray Winstone) captures fugitive Burns brothers Charley (Guy Pearce) and Mikey (Richard Wilson) at the scene of bloody rape and murder. Informing Charley that he must kill his older brother, Arthur (Danny Huston), in order to be set free, Stanley drags Mikey to a decrepit jailhouse while he waits for Charley to carry out the deed... Director John Hillcoat's second collaboration with musician Nick Cave (here contributing the film's screenplay and soundtrack with Warren Ellis) is a taut character study of desperation amid the mesmerising backdrop of the 19th century Australian outback.