haz567

Much more entertaining then it probably had any right to be, a couple of newlyweds move into a new apartment with... you guessed it, a killer refrigerator. The wife seems to have some issues with some incident involving her mother and a knife in the past, whilst the husband is increasingly seduced by the refrigerator into insanity. Neither plot angles are resolved or explained, but most funny of all is moustached plumber Juan who is dressed in chains and leather (even doing an exotic dance at one point), something of a hero though there is no climax for him to have done anything heroic, and the whole racial stereotyping of the Latino community living around the slum block of flats who are in constant contention with the husband who is typical 80's white go getter ego. This film has depth! There is absolutely no explanation to the motives of the refrigerator as far as I could tell, and the imposing, nightmarish focus on it is extremely campy. It's a fun watch, but it is a truly abysmal movie.

Rowan Wood's film The Boys is a cracking little drama from Australia, driven by some excellent performances and notable for an early appearance from David Wenham & Toni Collette on screen together before they hit it big over in the states.

This film is intense, taken as a slow burning drama it works incredibly well as a portrait of a working class Australian family tearing itself apart over the course of a single day. It culminates in an ending that leaves the viewer cold, featuring intertwined cut-scenes strewn throughout the film which show later consequences only serving to intensify the lack of resolution and bleakness present as the credits start to roll.

As a director Rowan Woods adds some nice touches though the main focus of the film is on developing the characters present. The opening sequences feature an almost surrealistic focus on an everyday Australian household setting and the objects within it, something quite unknown to me in the realms of film which sets a spooky tone to the minimalist soundtrack composed by The Necks. Grainy shots of the city at night between sequences further this, capturing perfectly the maudlin vibes I know so well.

The Boys is a very well made film, one of the most accomplished dramas to have come out of Australia. Being born on these shores personally and having known people who live like this it becomes all the more relevant. It is bleak but despite this there is an uneasy humor throughout, the plight of the ultimately pathetic characters striking an ambiguity where you don't know whether to laugh or feel disturbed.

This is life... is it not?