The Rooster

I thoroughly enjoyed this film written and directed by Mark Leonard Winter. An amazing performance by Phoenix Raei and Hugo Weaving. The film touches on mental health issues as well as the loneliness that many people face. To me It inspired many emotions which change throughout the film. The policeman played by Phoenix. Raei was outstanding and highlighted the stresses and mental issues that some police officer may be subject too. Hugo Weaving's performance was brilliant. I loved the film setting and the cinematography. The sound editing was amazing with a special mention to the excellent work by the foley artist whose work was outstanding.

In dark, bleak but quietly classy Aussie drama "The Rooster" the troubled psyche of rural cop Phoenix Raei plunges when brain-damaged pal Rhys Mitchell kills himself out in the remote woods. Spiralling towards his own suicide in those same woods Raei meets reclusive hermit Hugo Weaving, and the two forge an unlikely relationship... with details emerging of Mitchell's death - and Weaving's disturbing past. Avoiding cliché in his debut, writer / director Mark Leonard Winter delivers more of a moody character-study (requiring excellent performances, that his leads deliver) than a gripping thriller, which won't be for all - but folk who for example liked "Pig", should love this one.

I'm not a feminist and I believe men deserve to have their stories told but I found this to be a tedious journey trying to explore the minds of broken men. The exploration itself is at the pace of a snail, I found myself and my girlfriend looking at our phone because many of the scenes just were too quiet that nothing was really going on. I love quiet and poetic cinema and always applaud the use of restraint in storytelling, especially not to over-indulge with so many film-making trickery and camera angles.

This film did not tell a story well, instead it indulged itself with men behaving like boys and a chance for an esteem actor such as Hugo to have fun and act like a fractured, naughty little boy.

The other actor seemed to play it very calm, but I felt his presence was not quite there.

I didn't know what this film was about, maybe I wasn't paying attention, maybe it wasn't clear enough or maybe I'm just not intelligent enough.

It seems to be a theme in Australia where directors like to mimic other styles of Aussie storytelling, it's the tedious and horse-flogging style of really dragging it out.

As they say boys will be boys.

This is so much more than a mystery. It is a beautifully crafted story about friendship and Hugo Weaving deserves every award going around for an absolutely authentic performance (Phoenix Raie is brilliant too). The background of the story is a man dealing with depression but it is not a sad film - without giving anything away it turns all your expectations on their head. The script is perfect and sparing - at its heart it is a film about male communication, how hard it is and how kindness and trust are so important. I have never seen anything like it and have not stopped thinking about it since I saw it two nights ago.

A tough one to review because you know it's not going to be a box office hit.

Watching it, though, I was thinking how long it had been since I'd seen a real character piece. You know, I mean something that wasn't just quirky or dark or subverting expectations. This was a character piece of old. This was staring into the abyss (this is a Wall Street reference). It's a tale for those who've walked with the black dog, been at society's fringe, and/or at some time been a pariah of the community - not a pillar.

I hate to say that it's probably a men's film because I'd surely not want to discourage the inquisitive minds of the fairer sex from having a look. Nor would I want to restrict the universal themes of the movie to a select audience.