Measure for Measure

I don't really understand the plot, as the accents are hard to understand, and the foreign language parts aren't subtitled. The production is good though.

Adaptation or not, you have to present material to an audience that is palpable. The source material is really irrelevant.

The presentation, in both script and direction feels amateurish and cliché. The crime element has been done to death. The romantic angle is so poorly presented, especially the early montage, complete with cheesy music. The drone shots are overdone and the direction is stale overall. The only thing that saves this film is the obvious class of Hugo Weaving, though the film is not worthy of him. Megan Smart tries. Nice to John Brumpton here too.

Australian funding bodies seem to have no interest in bringing in an audience. They all want to create some cultural art that reaches no one, made by the middle to upper classes, telling working class stories. It's a joke. We need original stories that can also entertain. You can create cultural significant stories while embedding in well crafted entertainment, such as in Mystery Road or crime tales like The Boys and Animal Kingdom. Surely there are also other stories worth telling?

The Australian Film Industry seems to make films for itself, trying to 'educate' society from the outside, writing their scripts in Albert Park cafes, wanting to change the world with their colossal egos, thumbing their stuck-up noses at audiences. At least, that's what they're funding. Plenty of good scripts, no doubt, never see the light of day.

How much talent has Australia lost to overseas? Not just actors but writers, directors, producers, cinematographers, the works. We need to invest money in actual talent and foster them from the ground up and lop off the head of nepotism. Too many people have given up because they can't catch a break while 'important' crap like this keeps getting made. Decent Australian films seem so far and few between.

Maybe the concept sounded delicious over a second bottle of red and a seafood linguine in a South Melbourne restaurant but all they delivered was a dried-out cheeseburger.

I could not get through this film. The dialogue and the acting were terrible. Hugo Weaving is one of our very best, but even he couldn't deliver the lines with any conviction. What I did sit through, I found this murky, unpleasant and lacking in believability. If you want to see a great Aussie film with Hugo Weaving - 'Hearts & Bones' - much under appreciated film from 2019. I am over the over supply of bleak, nihilistic Australian films that our industry produces. And don't get me started on the horror genre!

Good luck to those who actually get to the end of 'Measure for Measure'

I really enjoyed this film. Had no idea what to expect going in, so was pleasantly surprised by the really good acting (Hugo Weaving is always a joy to watch!) . and the female lead in particular is amazingly good!! If you like really thoughtful, interesting films, then I can highly recommend this one.

Measure for Measure does a lot of things right, starting with very good performance's from the whole cast especially Hugo Weaving, Harrison Gilbertson and Megan Hajjar, who all add a lot of emotion and put a large amount of passion in the film and it most definitely reflects well with their performances. The writing for the most part is well done, and you can definitely respect the talent of writers, Paul Ireland and Damian Hill for condensing a 4 hour Shakespeare play into a 2 hour adaptation with its own unique spin. The whole decision of making the film have an Australian underbelly, featuring two opposing gangs was unique and in that you get to explore the nitty gritty side of Melbourne at times which is very interesting to see. The shots of the city landscape during the film are also well done and at times can feel like a love letter to Melbourne.

This film is not perfect however, and I think some of it has to come from the source material, there are elements to the film that seem very sappy and cheesy at some points. Also the opening scene has some themes that make the film very intense and adds some serious weight whilst also speaking on some issues that Australia has faced when it comes to Crystal Meth, then it takes a complete 180 and becomes a love story for a good portion of the film which makes it hard to adjust to these differences. The film takes a good amount of time to find its footing, however once it did the film became very enjoyable to watch.

Overall I had a good time with Measure for Measure and it was an excellent experience to see this at the Brisbane International Film Festival and go to a Q & A with Director Paul Ireland, I just wish it had found a more harmonic balance between the gang and romantic themes in the story, especially in the beginning of the film.