Rise

My partner and I have watched 'Rise' close to a dozen times since it's Australian cinema release. One of those earthy Australian timeless classics that you can watch over and over again. A film that pulls on the heart strings of even a hardened man like myself each time I watch it. The film is grounded, real and was written and directed by Mack Lindon, who the film is based on. So it's void of over dramatisation that we see in too many films today. That's what makes 'Rise' so comfortable to watch, even though the basis of the story is so far from it. This debut film from first time director Mack Lindon also looks into the human side of finding hope as strongly as the process and challenges of finding justice. Watching characters Will (Nathan Wilson), Jimmy (Martin Sacks) and Fung (Marty Rhone) was an absolute pleasure. The interactions were powerful and a stand out. Also some genuine performances by some relatively new faces to the screen reiterate that realism to the film and a credit to the casting. As a package, 'Rise' is one film everyone should see. A story of hope that we can all relate too. It may even inspire you to do something that brings hope to others.

I went into this movie pretty much as I do with all the movies I view, and that is knowing nothing about them, I do this so as not to have any preconceived ideas of what to expect, I find this the best method for viewing as I am not at all influenced by other peoples opinions.

Initially I didn't think I would last the entire movie, the actors were not of a high caliber, with the exception of Martin Sacks, and to be honest I didn't recognize him at first, but I immediately wanted to watch the entire movie once his presence was made, it took me a little while before I realized who he was, it was he, or rather his character that I was interested in and not that of the movies focus, he truly is a great actor that has somehow managed to go unnoticed by the big wigs.

Anyway on with the movie, as mentioned, all the actors with the exception of Sacks are well and truly out of their league in a feature film and in my opinion would be more suited to soaps.

The direction seems hurried and definitely does not make a convincing case when it come to character building, there are affinities built on seemingly very little to nothing, rushing this vital part of any movie is wrong, but even this cannot detract you from the character Jimmy Cove (Sacks).

The poor acting is not restricted to the main character (Nathan Wilson) but pretty much every single actor in this movie. To make matters worse the court scenes are just dreadful, not a lick like real life, very hashed and uninvolved, and that pretty much sums it up for this movie, hashed and uninvolved, but I must mention that I did watch the movie until the end credits, I wanted to see if Jimmy and Will got to meet up outside of the prison walls...I wont mention if they did or not, but regardless of how the movie was put together, there is a feeling of friendship and sincerity between these two characters.

In summary, I felt this could have been a great movie, had it had a decent director and decent actors I feel it could have made a far more compelling movie.

Martin Sacks carried this movie and if not for him, it would in no way be worth viewing.

Great work Martin.

5/10 and four of those stars go to Martin.

I took my wife to see this movie and we were both moved by it. The possibility of humans to redeem themselves is really what the movie is about and it does this admirably well. Other comments have mentioned it has a religious aspect but I hardly noticed because it doesn't push it. It is a heartwarming piece of good Australian film making and worth a look.

Martin Sacks was excellent and he did carry the film but it was a great effort by many unknown Australian actors including the lead, Nathan Wilson. I believe it was Mack Lindon's first directorial role and he did a great job. I look forward to seeing future films from him.

If you're in the mood for a sentimental, feel-good prison movie, then this fits the bill. Engaging acting and professional production make this a watchable movie.

It's worth mentioning to start that this is a Christian movie. Now, I'm a Christian - I have no problem with Christian movies. Some I like, some I don't - but Christians have a right to make movies that promote Christian faith and spiritual transformation. But I was a bit taken aback to discover that this was a Christian movie - because there's nothing in its description that would make you think it's a Christian movie. Actually, you have to pretty much wait for the closing credits to discover that one organization that appears to have been highly involved in putting this together was a church (whose name I just can't remember) that appears to be an Australian evangelical church. Which, again, is perfectly fair. I just wish it had been stated outright. The story - based apparently on an actual case - that is described sounds interesting. A young man (played by an Australian actor named Nathan Wilson) is falsely accused and convicted of rape and has to find a way to survive in prison while awaiting his appeal. That actually sounds pretty interesting - and it's not at all a bad movie - but once you get into it you discover that it's much more a movie about Christian conversion than surviving prison (not that the two aren't related in this case.) At times, the religious element comes across as a bit forced and unnatural - and there's a weird scene of what seemed to be a kind of forced baptism of another inmate that somehow magically converts him! (If it were that simple we Christians should just go out on the streets with buckets of water and splash unsuspecting people on the head!) So, while I'm all in favour of Christian movies and evangelism, I was just a bit put off by how it was all handled.

The story itself seemed a little bit choppy. It starts very abruptly. We learn that Will (Wilson) is a nurse - a pretty good one apparently - who hooks up with a girl at a bar, has sex with her and then has her accuse him of rape. It apparently had something to do with her wanting to get her boyfriend jealous or something. I didn't think the incident was well portrayed or sufficiently explained. But we do know that Will gets convicted and sent to prison. The prison story to me remained choppy and poorly put together. It gave us a taste of what life must be like inside a prison in Australia (and, presumably, most Western countries) but it was only a taste. Will develops relationships with several prisoners who guide him through the experience. To be honest, although he clearly wanted out, it didn't seem as if he had that hard a time on the inside. There was a good performance (maybe the best in the movie) from Martin Sacks as Jimmy Cove - a tough, veteran inmate who befriends Will. Otherwise, the performances were OK, but not spectacular in my opinion.

Most of the movie, basically, is the tension of waiting to find out if Will's appeal is going to be successful and he's going to be released. I have to say that this doesn't present a particularly flattering portrayal of the Australian justice system. If the movie is accurate, the evidence against Will was flimsy at best, there was a lot of reason for reasonable doubt and yet still the Crown also appeals the verdict to get his sentence INCREASED. Which means that, knowing that he's innocent, you feel a lot of sympathy for Will, and you want him to get out. So, for that reason alone, the movie does hold your attention. (5/10)