Goldstone

'Goldstone' is the sequel to 'Mystery Road', a decent Australian outback murder-mystery, but I actually liked 'Goldstone' better, as it has more unknowns and undercurrents than it's predecessor. Pedersen is back as Detective Jay Swan, but he's a bit more disheveled this time, having gone through some type of trauma in his life. He arrives in Goldstone, a tiny outback town, looking for a missing girl and isn't really welcomed and has to try to find her with resistance from everyone.

The cast is great - Josh (Russell) is the only police officer for 100's of kilometres and it's great to see him wrestle with what's right vs what he can and can't turn a blind eye to; Maureen (Weaver) is the crazy-eyed, false-smile mayor; Jimmy (Gulpilil) & Tommy (Lewis) are local aboriginal elders, and while Gulpilil's role is small, it's significant; Johnny (Wenham) is the greedy mine manager, supplying jobs (and alcohol); and May (Davidson) is a woman trapped in a tough situation. Josh and Jay clash, as he doesn't need outsiders interfering, and Maureen and Johnny certainly don't want their racquet foiled.

Plenty happens, even though there's lots of great scenery shots, as well as some from overhead (crane or helicopter), that look amazing. It's filmed in western Queensland, but could be anywhere in the Northern Territory, South Australia, Western Australia or New South Wales - extremely desolate and at times, beautiful. It's a slow burn, but everything comes together strongly for the final 20min, with a good ending. Plenty of social commentary - aboriginal interests vs mining interests; city vs country way-of-life; greed vs ethics; but in the end, it's an above average cop thriller that works on a few levels.

This movie just came to the US and it was playing at the theater where I work. I wasn't really planning to see it because the poster looked pretty generic, but after watching the trailer I changed my mind because it looked very well shot and I have yet to see a bad Australian film.

Man, am I glad I watched this. EVERY aspect of this movie is so well handled. The cinematography, directing, writing and acting are all so well done without being too flashy. It all fits with the story being told.

Every single performance was great. I especially enjoyed Aaron Pederson's understated, tormented performance. Understated is actually an accurate adjective for all of this film. The only performance I thought was mediocre was the actress who played May. This was most likely the casting, but I would've liked her English to be more broken. I also felt she was a little too confident for the position she was in.

The writing is really good. The story is nothing revolutionary but it's simple and effective. The movie is definitely slow but I was never bored. What I really loved was the dialogue. There were moments when it was very powerful but never heavy handed. I think the wonderful performances and subtle direction assisted in that. Also, I loved Josh's character arc. His arc, as well as the slow build up, made the climax SO satisfying.

The cinematography was gorgeous but subtle. Expressive but never too flashy. Probably the best aerial shots I've personally seen in a movie. The shootout is so well shot and directed. Really got me going.

All in all I would definitely recommend this to a patient movie-goer. I had a really great experience and enjoyed every second. This score is also something to be mentioned, beautiful and emotional.

The harsh climate of the Australian Outback is best watched on film or TV rather than actually living there, and Goldstone does it full justice. The driftwood and sand color palette corrugated iron shacks in the vast flat ochre landscape is stunning and the film is worth seeing for this if nothing else. I loved the slow almost dreamy style unusual for an action film, but unfortunately, due to the glacial pace of the action there isn't much else. Although Aaron Pedersen does a credible job, he really isn't given much to do, unlike the prequel, Mystery Road, he spends most of his time getting drunk or sobering up, with no explanation as to why he is on the grog. Maybe he needs a woman to brighten up his life.

I am giving this film a 9 as it is the most visually beautiful arid desert photography since Lawrence of Arabia, but it lost a point with the tired old clichéd story line. How many more times are we going to see the big mining company acquiring land by foul means from indigenous people and farming folk who don't know any better, or if they do, are powerless to do anything about it? The mining companies have the politicians in their pockets and are allowed free rein to fence off property and guard it with private security thugs to hide the illegal activities which are going on. Their nefarious plans are usually exposed when someone goes missing, which brings in a nosy outside investigator with problems of his own who manages to survive various attempts to buy him off or kill him off. I am not knocking the story line, 'The Code' with an almost identical plot kept me awake all night as I binged on the episodes, but the familiarity makes the outcome predictable.

My big question is where do they get the electricity to power the air conditioning those trailers must need in the furnace of the outback? Instead of shooting at people, all Jay and Josh had to do to flush out the villains was shoot out the trailer windows and the heat would have brought out the occupants in seconds. Lastly, although we never see a cell tower, I want to know how they always manage to get perfect cell phone reception in the middle of nowhere, when I can't get a perfect signal in a heavily populated area of 25 million. Does Australia have secret long range cell phone technology which they are keeping from the rest of us?

Before watching Goldstone I was going to watch Mystery Road, but unfortunately Netflix has dropped it. Shame!

Goldstone could have been a far better movie than the interesting one it is. As a pastiche of several other classics along the lines of; Bad Day at Black Rock, Shane, Magnificent 7, and others, it ambles on to tell a fairly conventional but interesting story of corruption and moral decay set in an outback mining village (often referred to as the 'Town')

The multi-talented writer, director, cinematographer, editor and score composer, is Queensland born (to an Aust Indigenous mother and Croatian/German Father) Ivan Sen. Mr Sen has perfected the look of many trend-setting movie makers as well as some of his own unique touches. This should hold the patient viewers interest with its superb desolate landscapes and settings but falls somewhat short with odd, foolish touches - such as an over the top shootout where the neighborhood miners carry on performing menial out-door tasks while serious heavy- gunfire rains mercilessly around them (if this was supposed to be John Wayne type humour, it doesn't work).

A strong character performance by indigenous performer Aron Pederson as the investigating detective is weakened from his being eternally paralytic - leaving himself way too vulnerable to the deadly situations he's working within. The business 'crooks' all tend to be clichéd and rather one dimensional, while their henchmen are too gung-ho Americanised. The predictable & needless over-use of four-letter words becomes tiresome and the walk-away-from gunfire ridden car smash-up (while well done) is a stretch, to say the least. But, all that aside, it's a good-looking, attention holding, Technicolour/Noir, Modern Aussie Western – that could have been a social conscience classic.

Goldstone essentially picks up where Mystery Road left off.

Which is wonderful for the viewer, because Mystery Road is one of my favourite films, I am a huge fan of writer/director Ivan Sen, and Aaron Pedersen's "aboriginal detective" is one of my favourite all time film characters.

What makes these films so special, aside from superb writing, acting, and direction? Cinematography --- as I said in my review of Mystery Road, the country itself is the unbilled co-star and the aerial shots are to die for.

The themes. Sen is too good a writer to avoid core underlying themes of morality, good and evil, greed and kindness. Even when you think you are just watching a sunset, you realize there are other things going on.

Which brings us to the true genius of this writer/director -- in the opinion of this reviewer, Sen manages to construct the tone and mood of a 1940s film noire in 21st century Australia, in daylight, and in full colour.

If you think that is easy to do .. try it some time.

Recommended.

Don't be shy -- give it a try.

((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))