Swerve

Another Neo-Noir, this One from Austrailia, in the Tradition of John Dahl's Red Rock West (1993) and Oliver Stone's U-Turn (1997). Throw in a Little Coen Brothers and a Dash of Everything Else Ever in this Type of Thing and You have a Watered Down Version of Some Very Good and Entertaining Films in the Neo-Noir Genre.

Unfortunately this is Nothing New and so Irritatingly Nothing New and that Keeps it from Becoming Remarkable. It isn't Bad its just a Bit Wearisome and Not that Well Crafted. There are Some Glaring Edits and Transitions that are Head Scratchers and Confusing. The Gist is that They just don't Make Any Logical Sense.

The Appearance of a Formerly Beat Up Car, looking Raring and Ready to Go and the Jarring Scene where Our "Victim" of the Femme Fatale is Shown One Minute in a Watery Well and the Next is in Some Subterranean Situation of Tunnels and a Surprise.

It is Worth a Watch for Some Striking Cinematography and a Quirky Score and the Thing Moves Along at a Pounding Pace. There is Fun to be had here if the Thinking Cap is Removed and the Popcorn is Buttery, but there isn't Much Style and the Inclusion of the Marching Bands as Something Edgy is More Corny than Cool.

I saw Swerve at the Melbourne International Film Festival last year. What a ride! The films' director Craig Lahiff (previous film fame Heavens' Burning (Russell Crowe) and Black and White (Robert Carlyle)) prefaced the screening by saying "have fun" – I sure did! Too often Aussie audiences seem to take Aussie films too seriously, this was just good old' entertainment and the audience really got into it! Swerve is an action packed and sexy neo-noir thriller with twists, turns and all sorts of goodies in-between. It's a confident film and knows how to have some fun. The twisting plot always keeps you on your toes and the hot Aussie stars David Lyons, Emma Booth and Jason Clarke are all well cast for their roles. It was great to see an Australian film with some proper action in it. Roy Billing and Chris Haywood make some colorful cameos. Travis McMahon plays a ripper of a bad guy and it was good to see Vince Colosimo in some rough-house fight sequences. Hopefully Swerve comes out in cinemas soon – everywhere it plays it gets a great response. Australia should make more movies like this!

Apparently, Australian director and screenwriter Craig Lahiff wanted to create a "cool" thriller in the British style, but the result leaves to be desired. Even with duration less than 1 hour 20 minutes, there are long shots with riding cars and without text, the cast is not catchy, logic of twists and turns is difficult to follow, fighting/chasing scenes are arid, some supporting characters (e.g. Vince Colosimo's) are ungrounded, providing no additional value. Thus, the events do not run smoothly, and the outcome is just-another-felony-film probably suitable for killing time with popcorn rather than memorable film experience. Thanks to shortness, however, Swerve does not become boring, leading to a versatile, yet ambivalent ending.

But as for films coming from the Commonwealth of Nations, however, Australian ones are still much better than Canadian or Indian ones...

This film is not classed as such but it is a comedy and an enjoyable one too. It is full of intentional clichés and is darkly funny. It is a shallow film with little credible development of character but it is easy to sympathise with some of the players in this drama and understand their motivation. Others are automata with a single purpose or deranged with jealousy. As light entertainment it is well done and with some beautiful cinematography. It is a pleasant diversion for an hour and a half.

Swerve is written and directed by Craig Lahiff. It stars Emma Booth, Jason Clarke, David Lyons, Vince Colosimo and Travis MacMahon. Music is by Paul Grabowsky and cinematography by David Foreman.

It was done absolutely no favours by the marketing department, the studio executives clearly not having a clue what sort of film they had on their hands. Even the home format releases are adorned with enticing slogans such as "The New Mad Max" and etc, which is utter tosh and only of use to dupe high energy action film fans into buying the product.

Swerve is a clinical piece of neo-noir, it stabs its tongue into its bloody cheek whilst adhering with great success to the conventional rules of film noir. The characterisations, the triple pronged narrative front and visual ticks are all here, with a healthy slice of sly humour sprinkled over the top of things.

Story will be familiar to purveyors of noir and its devilish off-shoots. Man comes across the remnants of an auto-mobile crash, bringing him into contact with a gorgeous lady and her less than stable husband. Oh and there's a suitcase full of cash as well. From there it's welcome to noirville – Oz style, as characters battle hard to keep out of the sticky cobweb woven by Lahiff.

Violence and action marries up with the cunning machinations of the characters, where of course nothing is ever as it seems, the means and motivations shady at best. Grabowsky serves up a quirky music score that probably shouldn't fit an Australian neo-noir, but it really does, especially upon reflection of the story at pic's culmination.

Lahiff and Foreman offer up some super cinematography. The Australian vistas are sumptuous, the sun drenched back drops perfect for a sweaty tale of dupe, divide and domination. Classical noir visuals are used with great effect, as shadows and rippled reflections drive home the psychological discord pulsing away in the plot.

Booth (The Boys Are Back), Clarke (Texas Killing Fields/Lawless) and Lyons (Save Your Legs!) turn in crackling performances for their director, with Booth standing out as she sizzles and sauces the femme fatale role that shows an acting talent few give her credit for.

Problems exist with a couple of the action sequences, Lahiff not a dab hand at constructing with conviction. Elsewhere the comparisons with films of a similar ilk, better ones, serve a familiarity factor that some may find hard to forgive (Lahiff practically remaking his own Fever from 1989). Yet this deserves better than its current low ranking on internet sites. A victim of poor marketing as votes from those not expecting a neo-noir have been held against it. Neo buffs should check it out. 7.5/10