Official
Australian release date: 7/7/16. Viewed: 5/7/16.
Director:
Ivan Sen
Actors:
Aaron Pedersen, Alex Russell, Jacki Weaver, David Gulpilil
Genre:
Drama / Thriller
Rating:
M
‘Goldstone’ is the sequel to ‘Mystery
Road’, a decent Australian outback murder-mystery, but I actually liked ‘Goldstone’
better, as it has more unknowns and undercurrents than it’s predecessor.
Pedersen is back as Detective Jay Swan, but he’s a bit more disheveled this
time, having gone through some type of trauma in his life. He arrives in
Goldstone, a tiny outback town, looking for a missing girl and isn’t really
welcomed and has to try to find her with resistance from everyone.
The cast is great – Josh (Russell) is
the only police officer for 100’s of kilometres and it’s great to see him
wrestle with what’s right vs what he can and can’t turn a blind eye to; Maureen
(Weaver) is the crazy-eyed, false-smile mayor; Jimmy (Gulpilil) & Tommy
(Lewis) are local aboriginal elders, and while Gulpilil’s role is small, it’s
significant; Johnny (Wenham) is the greedy mine manager, supplying jobs (and
alcohol); and May (Davidson) is a woman trapped in a tough situation. Josh and
Jay clash, as he doesn’t need outsiders interfering, and Maureen and Johnny
certainly don’t want their racquet foiled.
Plenty happens, even though there’s lots
of great scenery shots, as well as some from overhead (crane or helicopter),
that look amazing. It’s filmed in western Queensland, but could be anywhere in
the Northern Territory, South Australia, Western Australia or New South Wales –
extremely desolate and at times, beautiful. It’s a slow burn, but everything comes
together strongly for the final 20min, with a good ending. Plenty of social
commentary – aboriginal interests vs mining interests; city vs country way-of-life;
greed vs ethics; but in the end, it’s an above average cop thriller that works
on a few levels.
Overall: Enjoyable piece of Australian
cinema.
Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars.
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