Jack Irish: Bad Debts

I love the Jack Irish novels but I was worried the TV adaptation wouldn't do Peter Temple's writing justice. I was so glad to see my fears were unfounded. The show captured the feel of the book perfectly, from the Fitzroy 'youth club', to Charlie the carpenter, to colourful racing identities and hapless and not so hapless crooks. Loved Guy & Martha's crackling chemistry. Guy's portrayal of Jack was just flawless - a slight sense of tragedy an more than a little darkness but not shutting out the world like some other tortured crime novel protagonists. There's a real sense of the Australian male: somewhat stoic, no-nonsense, capable, not beholden to rules but not rebellious for the sake of it, with a good dose of humour thrown in. What's not to love? It doesn't hurt that Guy is getting more sexy as the years go by.

More than any other book I've read, Peter Temple's writing seems to capture the mood or feeling of Melbourne perfectly and I was so happy to find the same sense of place in this production. I can't wait to see more and will. Be re-watching this. This is such great television.

Rarely do I feel compelled to share my thoughts on a movie to other movie fans. A movie has got to be either really bad or exceptionally good. In the case of Jack Irish: Bad Debts, I am pleased to say that it falls into the exceptionally good category.

First up I compliment the previous two reviewers, whose views I share, and who have thoroughly set out some of the merits of this production.

This movie is outstanding in virtually every aspect. The actors are great. Guy Pearce is brilliant, as are all the other actors. No wonder, as they are all extremely experienced and each one manages to bring that little bit of extra depth, right from all the leads even down to the very minor roles.

The script is great; even though the story goes through quite a few twists and turns, it was entirely believable and had me hooked in.

The direction and technical side of things are first class.

For Melbournians, there is that little bit of extra joy hidden into so many parts of the film, but these traits also add a nice background and feel to the movie, which international viewers will also enjoy equally as well.

One of the best movies I have seen this year, either in theaters or on television. If you love a good yarn, don't miss catching up with this one. I give it 10 out of 10!

From the people behind Rake, Jack Irish is the latest TV movie from Andrew Knight from Rake and SeaChange fame.

Guy Peirce is fantastic as Jack Irish.

This would be one of the few series i would recommend to non aussies.

if you like shows like rake, seachange and spooks as well as the edge of darkness.

Such a great story, full of great characters, fantastic locations, flawless cinematography and direction.

With 1 down and 3 more to go i will be keeping a close eye on Jack Irish's next adventures.

10/10

Let me first say I am not Australian, The island I originate from is on a slightly smaller scale, the Isle of Man!

I have read all the Peter Temple books excepting 'White Dog', which I have been unable to get anywhere and was delighted to see that a couple of Jack Irish novels have been transferred to the screen and although I started viewing with trepidation it was soon dispersed as the storyline was spot-on and the acting by all was superb.

The characters are portrayed exactly as I imagined as are the various locations are not far off either, especially the pub!

Let us hope that more of the novels are transposed to the screen with the same exemplary skill of all concerned.

Now I am off to feast on 'Black Tide'.

This film starts with a hiss and a roar, which seems to fizzle out rather than go out with a bang. The acting is pretty good, with a decent story line to follow - also some funny one liners here and there.

Too often it was difficult to keep up with who the main characters were talking about, as they often mentioned names of people we were expected to know, but didn't.

Perhaps the film focuses a bit too much on the main character; viewing the story from more than one perspective could have given this film more depth.

Found it interesting that all the leads he found during his detective work were more than eager to share information with a complete stranger, especially since the case he was digging up was a decade old and sensitive.

Overall a good movie. Worth seeing once, but probably not again.