Inversione di rotta

Another Neo-Noir, this One from Austrailia, in the Tradition of John Dahl's Red Rock West (1993) and Oliver Stone's U-Turn (1997). Throw in a Little Coen Brothers and a Dash of Everything Else Ever in this Type of Thing and You have a Watered Down Version of Some Very Good and Entertaining Films in the Neo-Noir Genre.

Unfortunately this is Nothing New and so Irritatingly Nothing New and that Keeps it from Becoming Remarkable. It isn't Bad its just a Bit Wearisome and Not that Well Crafted. There are Some Glaring Edits and Transitions that are Head Scratchers and Confusing. The Gist is that They just don't Make Any Logical Sense.

The Appearance of a Formerly Beat Up Car, looking Raring and Ready to Go and the Jarring Scene where Our "Victim" of the Femme Fatale is Shown One Minute in a Watery Well and the Next is in Some Subterranean Situation of Tunnels and a Surprise.

It is Worth a Watch for Some Striking Cinematography and a Quirky Score and the Thing Moves Along at a Pounding Pace. There is Fun to be had here if the Thinking Cap is Removed and the Popcorn is Buttery, but there isn't Much Style and the Inclusion of the Marching Bands as Something Edgy is More Corny than Cool.

Mediocre Australian thriller heavy on characters and plot, but not quite as much on motivation or logic. It all starts off promisingly enough, with some intriguing scenes involving cars, drugs, death and a beautiful woman, but despite knowing well which ingredients he wanted, writer/director Craig Lahiff doesn't quite know how to prepare his dish. Mostly, his idea is to copy similar successful films, such as Tarantino's work or Oliver Stone's U-Turn. And to the extent that Swerve actually works, it's because of all the things we are not aware of in the film's first half, such as the characters' emptiness or the plot's stupidity. The talented Jason Clarke is the film's most positive asset, along with that story in the epilogue.

This film is not classed as such but it is a comedy and an enjoyable one too. It is full of intentional clichés and is darkly funny. It is a shallow film with little credible development of character but it is easy to sympathise with some of the players in this drama and understand their motivation. Others are automata with a single purpose or deranged with jealousy. As light entertainment it is well done and with some beautiful cinematography. It is a pleasant diversion for an hour and a half.

This film just had its North American premiere this evening at The Hamptons International Film Festival. The crowd loved this picture. It is big on action and suspense, and it has a strange twist, which I will not disclose. The story is set in a small village in Australia, in which an innocent by standard is inadvertently drawn into a web of sex, drugs, money, and murder. These are all elements that make a good action film. The acting is very well done, the photography and direction are excellent, and Emma Boothe is really sexy. The film received a standing ovation in East Hampton NY, it should hopefully get a wide release *****

I saw Swerve at the Melbourne International Film Festival last year. What a ride! The films' director Craig Lahiff (previous film fame Heavens' Burning (Russell Crowe) and Black and White (Robert Carlyle)) prefaced the screening by saying "have fun" – I sure did! Too often Aussie audiences seem to take Aussie films too seriously, this was just good old' entertainment and the audience really got into it! Swerve is an action packed and sexy neo-noir thriller with twists, turns and all sorts of goodies in-between. It's a confident film and knows how to have some fun. The twisting plot always keeps you on your toes and the hot Aussie stars David Lyons, Emma Booth and Jason Clarke are all well cast for their roles. It was great to see an Australian film with some proper action in it. Roy Billing and Chris Haywood make some colorful cameos. Travis McMahon plays a ripper of a bad guy and it was good to see Vince Colosimo in some rough-house fight sequences. Hopefully Swerve comes out in cinemas soon – everywhere it plays it gets a great response. Australia should make more movies like this!