The finest of acting could not make up for the ludicrous direction the narrative takes.Īs the story lurches from one catastrophe to the next, there are several opportunities to end it and put the whole damned mess out of its misery, but none are taken. The mean crim with lit fuse sputtering dangerously suddenly erupts with soppy declarations of love for Sparra, passionate kisses are exchanged, and be buggered if we’re not dropped into the middle of a yes-you-want-it/no-I-don’t melodrama that would not be out of place in a teen soapie, were it not for the machismo, shared gender and criminal past of the participants.Īlex Russell obviously struggles with the emotional response required of his character at this point (and when the emotional going gets tough with his fiancée), and this doesn’t help, but the fatal flaw is clearly in the writing. Turns out it is not only a partnership in crime that Pommie is seeking from Sparra – the revelation that the two were a little closer than mere cell mates is the dreaded “oh no moment” that sends the film into a death spin. The sexually charged cat-and-mouse games he plays with Paula, who is not entirely discouraging, make for gripping if uncomfortable viewing. Part of his strategy is to drive a wedge between the couple. Unwilling to let matters rest, Pommie insinuates himself into the couple’s lives, and sets out to draw Sparra back to the dark side. The time bomb within begins to tick when he looks up his old cellmate, Sparra (Alex Russell), whom he anticipates becoming his partner in crime, only to find that the lad’s gone straight, has a regular job, and is setting up house in a country town with his fiancée, Paula (Jessica De Gouw). He plays Pommie, a career crim and killer just released from years in the can, and infuses his character with a barely suppressed rage and threat of explosive violence that gives the film real edge in its first half. He’s the one quality constant throughout, but is unable to save the film on his own. Lead actor Sullivan Stapleton is certainly not to blame. In the case of Cut Snake, it’s worse than that – what starts as a tense-as-hell and well managed thriller ends up as an excruciatingly melodramatic, mangled write-off of a flick that has you wondering how stuff like this ever gets funded in the first place. Sometimes a bit of rattle and shake is correctable, but all too often the whole shebang veers off track and bumps along to a miserable end in the ditch. Like many crime thrillers, this new Australian release begins promisingly, delivers quite some way in, then abruptly hits that “oh no” moment where the wheels begin to wobble. Verdict: Starts as a tense crime drama that builds promisingly, then abruptly collapses into excruciating melodrama. Pommie threatens to tell Paula about Sparra's other life.Featuring: Sullivan Stapleton, Alex Russell, Jessica De Gouw Learning that Sparra is in love with a woman brings rage. They are doing up an old farmhouse outside town when Pommie walks back into Sparra's life. To her he is the sweet, gentle, slightly enclosed young man she adores. In a small town near Melbourne, Mervyn Farrell (Alex Russell), nickname of Sparra, is soon to marry his sweetheart Paula (Jessica de Gouw). The look in his eyes tells us it wouldn't matter much to him. Ayres leaves the scene ambiguous: once he has found Merv's address, he might decide to kill her. In fact, he just wants to find where his old cellmate now lives. He is a friend of Merv, her son, and he offers a bottle of booze. On release from prison, he cons an old woman (Kerry Walker) into letting him into her house. Pommie gives the film its title – as in "mad as a…". In a bigger and better part than we have seen before, Stapleton does not miss his chance. It would be a pity if he confines himself to big, loud action. His career may be about to explode, given his roles in such films as 300: Rise of an Empire and a new American series, Blindspot. Stapleton has a pumped-iron torso and a face that can go from tender to terrifying in an instant. Pure menace: Pommie (Sullivan Stapleton) in Cut Snake.
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