Felony

What a pretty good surprise this movie from the Aussies. Not a film which could be similar to thousands ones. Pretty realistic too, closer to reality than most crime features that we see everywhere. I don't remember having already watched such a very same scheme, involving a cop in a sort of hit and run affair; not exactly but nearly...It is definitely a cop show but without being a crime movie. In summary, a very unusual film which deserves to be shown.

You may not have too many turns and twists in this, so you'll be able to fairly see the direction this is going. But it's still a nice watch. Especially because of the moral decisions people have to take. Or are willing to take to protect or rather are trying to hide truths from others because they deem its the way to go.

The acting is pretty solid here and there are a couple of good action scenes, considering this is more a thriller. While you may not agree with everything going on and the ending might not be what you wanted to see (I actually liked where they went there and it might be the one thing that's not straight as arrow), this is worth a watch

The movie stars a trio of top male actors in splendid roles, so that the intricate and very intimate "Felony" is a police story crossed with a strong psychological drama. Three very different Australian detectives, each one determined to do the right thing, are supposed to decide how to define justice in one specific case and must choose what lines can be crossed and what price may be paid as to achieve it. Director Matthew Saville has perfectly constructed a low-key and realistic drama. These kinds of moral decisions and subjects always end up making involving films, especially when the key performers are as good as Tom Wilkinson, Joel Edgerton and Jai Courtney. Working on a perfect screenplay by Edgerton, the director Matthew Saville has expertly constructed an extremely realistic drama where the malleability of morality in an increasingly difficult situation takes center stage.

Another one of the recent spat of Australian films that have failed to find an audience at home despite good reviews, Joel Edgerton scripted and Matthew Saville directed Felony is a frustrating experience due to it being a film that constantly threatens to become something powerful, yet is consistently bought down back to a level that makes it easy to see why people failed to fork out the cash to see a tale that isn't overly original or as effective as it wants to be.

Starting out in a hugely promising fashion, Felony looks likely to be one of those searing Australian dramas in the vein of Animal Kingdom or even Saville's own under-seen gem Noise, yet quickly descends into a procession of seen before events that culminate in a fairly unimpressive ending. The central scenario that Edgerton and Saville create is an intriguing one and a ripe potential idea and it's clear that the idea was developed first and the strands that follow afterwards and the film just can't keep up its beginning pace that sees some smart scripting and direction take place. You'll be undoubtedly hooked as these detectives look to cover up a shocking accident and thanks to some fine acting the film remains viable despite it's failures.

Edgerton remains a solid if unspectacular core to the film but the continued emergence of Jai Courtney and the ever good work of Tom Wilkinson (here called in to ad gravitas to a film that needed the weight) really brings the film to life. Courtney does some fine work as young detective Jim, even though he is saddled to the films horrid and awkward love story but it really is Wilkinson that steals this show. Wilkinson is both sympathetic, calculated and snarling as old time detective Summer. Wilkinson bites into the script and comes out on fire, it's a joy to see such a veteran of the industry come to our fair shores and show us how it's done and he clearly had a blast with this character. Director Saville also comes up trumps here despite some narrative flaws in the story and his direction honed in film and quality TV like The Slap has clearly set him up well.

While many bemoan local audiences failing to support home grown films, if the films are like Felony there's no reason why we should be forking out hard earned money on films like this. There not bad films but there films that aren't likely to cause people much excitement as truth be told, it's nothing we haven't been witness to before and Felony just doesn't do enough to leap from the pack even though it has some nice moments.

3 side view mirrors out of 5

"Felony," from 2013, is a film written by and starring Joel Edgerton, Jai Courtney, and Tom Wilkinson. These actors play Australian police detectives who are brought into conflict after a tragedy.

Edgerton plays Malcolm Toohey. After a few drinks, he is driving home when he hits a boy who is riding a bicycle. The boy is not wearing a helmet and is bleeding.

Panicked, Malcolm calls for paramedics. He says initially that he didn't see anything, that he saw something in the street and it turned out to be the boy. Later on he says he saw the tail lights of a car as it turned the corner.

This discrepancy is noted by a new detective, Jim Melic (Courtney). Courtney's partner is a veteran, Carl Summer (Wilkinson). Melic doesn't understand the way the incident is handled. The car was not impounded, for one thing, and the discrepancy in Malcolm's statement isn't questioned.

Melic becomes obsessed with gathering evidence on the case, particularly after meeting the boy's mother and seems to become interested in her. Summer, on the other hand, wants him to stop investigating. Malcolm? His conscience is killing him.

Good movie, if not great, with an excellent performance by Wilkinson, as always. There is something about his presence in any film that elevates it, in my opinion. He is such an excellent actor, and has such a wide range, that he draws a viewer in immediately.

Joel Edgerton approached his role in an internalized way, probably not to everyone's taste, but his performance is solid. Jai Courtney comes off in his role as a determined detective who is able to keep his emotions in check until the very end, sort of inwardly seething.

All in all, very good, also quite dark. No one leaves this world unscathed.