West

WEST Lives unravel in this potent tale of suburban boredom and violence.

As I settled in to watch West, the story of two young under-educated slackers getting into trouble in Sydney's western suburbs, I experienced a hedonistic urge for a geographical alternative. Why, for once, couldn't it be East, the story of the West boys' privileged counterparts - rich kids in sharp suits exchanging sharp talk while getting into trouble in sleek, expensive Sydney? But that hasn't been the Australian way. We rarely see the city's moneyed class taken apart on screen. Our writers and directors prefer to look for their stories elsewhere and it has to be said that West's writer-director, Daniel Krige, is one of the most persuasive. The film's opening has Pete (Khan Chittenden) and his cousin, Jerry (Nathan Phillips), drinking beer and smoking dope in their favourite haunt - under a bridge over a stormwater canal. It's not exactly a scene rich in dramatic promise, yet when it comes to disarming your prejudices, Krige proves an expert. West's settings are where he grew up. It's his turf. Clearly, it fascinates and exasperates him. He also knows how to hold its extremes in delicate balance, giving us a place where boredom and violence come together repeatedly in the unholiest of alliances.

In their bunker-like retreat, Pete and Jerry are getting in the mood for a night of partying. They're also engaged in an unusually reflective conversation. Jerry, strangely enough, wants to talk about the future. He says he still doesn't know what he's going to do with the year ahead - a remark that mystifies Pete. He says that they'll do what they did last year. They'll see what happens. He doesn't believe in making plans. "They don't happen. You get depressed." In these few words the film lays out its theme. For Jerry does make plans and they mark the beginning of his life's unravelling.

At the party, we follow a bleary-eyed Pete, who is lusting after Cheryl (Gillian Alexy), a girl whose good looks and sexual swagger magnetise every male she meets. Predictably, he has no luck; she bypasses him in favour of Jerry, possibly because he's not as stoned and can still string a few sentences together. It's not Pete's night. Pursuing his part-time job as a drug dealer, he offends Kenwood (Anthony Hayes), the most loathsome member of a gang of thugs, and is beaten up and robbed.

These are the basic outlines of the cousins' circumscribed world. At night, it takes on a spurious poetry born of noise and bustle and the shimmer of neon on slick, wet pavements. But in the flat glare of daytime, all the promise and colour are leached out of it. Jerry desperately wants to escape and he takes what he hopes will be his first step by getting a regular job behind the counter of the local fast food outlet. The extent of his good intentions can be seen by his willingness to wear a cap decorated with chicken wings while making clucking jokes at his own expense.

Unimpressed, Pete just carries on as usual, lounging round with his drug-dealing boss, who leads an amiably addled half-life in front of his flat-screen television set. And when this routine wears thin, Pete goes to the bunker by the canal and sits smoking and drinking with Mick (Michael Dorman), another equally aimless twentysomething. Mick is afflicted with a stammer and an abiding pessimism. He also displays an unnerving preoccupation with moral hypotheses. "Would you wear a condom if you raped a girl?" he asks Pete, who's so shocked by the question that he can't stop thinking about it, or its sub-text: that the vacuum created by frustration and hopelessness could conceivably become toxic and cause him to do something he'd forever regret.

When the inevitable tragedy happens, they're all caught up in it. Saddest of all is the good-natured Jerry, who falls in love with Cheryl and makes the mistake of telling her so. It's a poignant performance by Phillips, whose Jerry is a compact, energetic figure, brimming over with a new and touching faith in the power of his own will. Chittenden's Pete is just as convincing. Lanky and soulful, he moves to a slower tempo than his cousin but his seeming passivity is deceptive. Behind it lies a deep reservoir of anger.

Krige's grasp of the narrative slips occasionally to make you wince with an inconsistency or a lapse in logic but his talent for the elliptical saves him at every turn. He has a flair for the kind of moment that can sum up a lifetime. He doesn't have to use words to spell out the contradictions in the bond between the cousins, for instance. He catches it in a single shot of them as they lie around smoking and talking in the bedroom they share in Jerry's mother's house. It's in the way the light falls across their bodies, forming sharply edged shadows that both link and separate them.

West is life in the bell jar. You may not want to be there but you can't deny the potency of the experience. Even so, I'm still hankering after East. For the right filmmaker, it could turn up narrative gold.

• Sandra Hall, Reviewer

I am a fan of Australian cinema which often produces low budget but good drama. This is by no means the best it has to offer but is worth a viewing.

The film centres on a small group of friends who appear to be heading toward oblivion. I don't know if the film realistically portrays young Australians realistically or not (probably not) but none of the characters are particularly appealing. I didn't empathise with any of the characters and therefore didn't care what happened to them. However maybe this was the point of the film, so I wouldn't say that was a negative.

Australia has produced some fine actors and while the acting in this is adequate no-one really stands out except maybe for Gillian Alexy.

The film is almost continually dark, violent and depressing along the lines of Requiem for a Dream, so will not appeal to a broad range of people. My wife pretty much hated it. However there were enough memorable scenes to keep my interest and make this worth watching.

Pharken oath mate, pack us a billy, Goes hard, like my skyline. The mincers in the comments can f off

"WEST" is an honest and confident film that made me sit up and pay attention. To Daniel Krige's credit he has written and directed highly complex characters true to people who have experienced their youth in the western suburbs of Sydney. This film does not judge the characters it presents, but rather reveals people who are trying to do their best to "break the mould" with limited options for advancement. "WEST" explores the durability of bonds forged in youth (between Pete and Jerry) via the introduction of a catalyst (Cheryl) and unapologetically portrays the potency of unbridled sexual love for another in a young mind. In this film such all-consuming passion accompanied by the bitterness of complete betrayal has the power to destroy everything in the end. I was extremely moved and impressed after watching this film, which is a rare experience in the current climate of Australian films, which tend to stereotype real people with comedic intent. The cinematography and soundtrack of "WEST" adds to a dark and almost pulsating atmosphere, which matches the struggle behind every hefty decision these characters make. Solid acting and great direction also make this film a must see.

Really, I cannot believe why this movie isn't up and around the 7-8 territory, as it fictionally nails the way in which the suburbs of western Sydney operate. Also, I am lazy and don't really feel like writing a long review.

Brutally honest it is, containing the mixed-up and meddled world of youth druggery, emotional recovery and sadistic thuggery. Each of these aspects is delved into thoroughly throughout "West", all examined with utmost honesty. Enlightening the audience to both sides of the moon, we see the "unlikeable characters" portray what western Sydney truly can be, by both night and day.

The "unlikeable characters" - which one reviewer refers to as a detriment to the films quality and citing it as a prime reason for their 1/10 rating - are the most important part of "West". Adding amazing amounts of authenticity to the already stunningly real environment, the feeling which will gestate within the audience towards the film's characters will resonate with an emotional and intrigued view you gain if you watch this whilst taking note of the contextual influences upon the its production.

"West" - 9/10.