The Actress

It's hard to believe a film like this can be made on just 700 bucks. Don't let the budget put you off! This is a great little movie! Excellent all round, performances,set design, script & story..A refreshing change for Aussie cinema. It's Australian with out being ocker, the characters are actually believable and three dimensional. The tone of the acting is understated, (the best kind, and the hardest to achieve). This film deserves a release in Australia. A bit sad that it was recognized at such a high level in the US (Slamdance) where it picked up distribution and not here in Australia as yet..Director Hilditch is an Australian director with something to offer.

The cast and crew should feel proud of this low budget film from Perth. The cast of first timers have managed to bring a rawness and reality where a big star or larger budget would not have not worked so well.

While I admit I did not understand the need for some of the early scenes it quickly fell into place as the story unfolded. The film kept me entertained for the duration and I found myself trying to guess the ending. Overall it's a good low-budget Australian film, the storyline is interesting and the actors all put in a solid performance. To sum the movie up in a sentence...... it's raw, it's real and it's worth a look.

I have just purchased the DVD as part of my Australian DVD collection and it will be one that I would happily recommend to friends.

"The Actress" is definitely a "no frills" film - apparently made for just a few hundred dollars and, frankly, it looks like it. But, it also serves up an assured piece of storytelling from a young director (Zak Hilditch)and vibrant and appealing performances from a novice cast. Maybe the pace flags a little from time to time, but there are many memorable scenes as the comic/dramatic tension generally ratchets up throughout the film. If you're looking for grand production values, look elsewhere - but if you enjoy edgy, contemporary (and very funny) performance-based films give "The Actress" a go. As the other commentary on this site also mentions, Steve McCall's performance is a wonderful (and realistically grounded)comic turn. And Zak Hilditch's direction suggests there are even better things to come in the future. To come clean, I do know the filmmakers - but this is an honest appraisal: "The Actress" is an entertaining piece of no-budget film-making, it is authentically Australian in many respects and there are lots of moments when - as we Aussies are wont to say - it's as funny as buggery!