Hammers Over the Anvil

Alexander Outhred stars as a crippled boy in the Australian coming-of-age story Hammers Over the Anvil. He longs to have a normal adolescence, but girls don't pay much attention to him and he has trouble just walking around the countryside, let alone riding a horse like a pro. Naturally, he looks up to the incredibly rugged and capable Russell Crowe, a master horseman with confidence and every woman at his fingertips. To top it all off, Russell is kind to the boy. He appears to have no flaws, but as is the case in every coming-of-age story, the pedestal is bound to topple.

Usually in this genre, there's a bit of a harmless romance; for example, the young kid gets a crush on an adult and she breaks his heart by falling for his idol. I was surprised by the strong sexual content in this movie. If I had a teenaged or pre-teen son, I would be embarrassed to watch it with him. Movies generally warn you as to what you're getting yourself into, though, and the opening scene of Hammers Over the Anvil features a completely naked Russell Crowe frolicking in the water with a group of horses. I wouldn't dream of complaining, but it's just unusual for pre-teen stories to feature graphic sex scenes in them. Charlotte Rampling was drawn to the "beautiful" script, but perhaps she was just envisioning her bedroom scene with her hunky, younger costar. There's nothing "beautiful" about the story. In fact, it takes a very dark turn and becomes quite upsetting. If you want to see a cute, young, Crowe, check out For the Moment instead.

Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to sexual content, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.

It's 1910 rural Australia. Alan Marshall is a boy crippled by polio who worships local hunky horse trainer East Driscoll (Russell Crowe). He is befriended by new English arrival Grace McAlister (Charlotte Rampling). She and her husband have brought ostriches from Africa. Alan is taken with her and then he catches her with East.

It's an Australian film based on a book. It's an old style tragic romance and coming-of-age. It's a bit pulpy and melodramatic. The production is better than TV but isn't quite epic enough to be cinematic. More than anything, Alan needs to be more. The young actor is not the most charismatic but even that could be fixed with a more compelling character. He is supposed to be crushing on Grace. He needs to be spying on her as much as possible. More can be done. The story is a bit slow. What it does have are two big time actors doing a smaller project. They do well but at the end of the day, this is Alan's story. He needs to be more. A more compelling move would be for him to have a crush on East. Either way, this kid may not be up to the task and his character should be better anyways.

As this year's films slip into the annals of film history, joining all the other visual works of man, the collective aesthetic speaks its choice.

"Hammers Over The Anvil" is destined to be one of those classics that is cited again and again as defining the genre.

The film is depthful, heart-breaking and heart-warming -- a lush visual journey, timeless in its insights. "Coming to manhood" is an essential human theme, and this film portrays it honestly and memorably, leaving the viewer with much to think about, deeply moved.

While successful U.S.-distributed movies "borrowed" their themes and content from this film, eight years in the making, and undercut its distribution potential in the early 1990's, they can never diminish or replace its unique brilliance.

Had its original distribution not been botched, it is my opinion that American movie goers would even now be citing this film along with "Gone With The Wind", "The African Queen", and "It's A Wonderful Life".

Today's film-goers have an insatiable appetite for excellence, whetted by the substance-less salads offered as main entrées. They will find this classic and devour it, again and again.

Final words... gorgeous, warm, chilling, real, unforgettable. This one will not go away.

I wonder if "Hammers Over the Anvil" author Alan Marshall could conceive there would one day be a film version of his book that opened with a grinning pubescent version of himself watching a grown man with a Peter Pan complex frolic naked in the water with horses, intermittently straddling and splaying himself across their backs. On the other hand, it gives hope to actresses like Traci Lords that they might one day go on to achieve success in legitimate films, like Russell Crowe, despite this naked exposure, has done.

Seriously, I chose to rent this video because of Crowe's inclusion in the cast, and knew ahead of time there was some nudity, but jeesh! The opening scene was tame compared to the rest of the film. Have these Aussies not heard that less is more? How about some subtle lighting and shadow play? I may as well have been standing in a barnyard watching a bunch of rutting farm animals have at it. The grunting and groaning alone sufficed; the viewer didn't need to be hit over the head with the visuals.

The secondary plot of young Alan trying to overcome the challenge of his polio inflicted legs so he could one day mount a horse was lost. Instead, the muck masquerading as an adolescent's "coming of age" became the focus of this movie. A shame for a work by a classic author like Marshall.

It's an exceptionally well done film with a great storyline, beautiful photography and brilliant acting by the main characters, Russell Crowe (as East), Alexander Outhred (as Alan) and Charlotte Rampling (as Grace). It is one of those movies which I like better each time I watch them. I bought the movie on DVD for my Russell Crowe collection and watched it on five evenings in a row. Each time I discovered more subtle details, more subtle facial expressions. It is a drama and has a very sad ending but there are still so many pleasant and even humorous scenes in this film that make watching it so enjoyable. My score is 10 out of 10.