Dirty Deeds

In an age when the Australian movie scene is dominated by "larrikin" family comedies, gritty urban dramas shot on cheap film stock and whatever epic movie Peter Jackson gestates in the grit under his fingernails, David Caesar has crafted a small celluloid gem. A movie about the enduring Australian goal of killing everything in our path until one day the entire world will hit itself on the thumb and say "Bugger!" instead of "Sh*t!", "Dirty Deeds" is a camp classic, a knowing pastiche of the Australia of the early 1970s with more lashings of violence than most people care to remember. The film's depiction of Australian organized crime is in itself fantastic, the gangsters drink lager, run poker machines and swear a great deal. To see them in action is to wonder if Vincent Vega and Jules Winfield would've stood a chance against these corduroy thugs. Why, it's exactly like the real thing! Dirty Deeds - A Movie For Anyone Who Remembers Australian Criminal Activity. Go see it, you'll never want to visit the Land of the Great Wide Melanoma again.

Sad to say, but despite a fantastic cast, great design and some genuine laughs, "Dirty Deeds" is ultimately a disappointment. A frenetic comedy set in the Sydney mob scene circa 1969, David Caesar's tale of cross and double-cross does admittedly have a lot going for it if you're not too picky. Bryan Brown has one of his most engaging roles in years as mobster Barry Ryan, head of the pokie rackets in Sydney. Toni Collette is equally good as his no-nonsense wife, while a solid cast of Aussie professionals such as William MacInnes, Sam Neil and Paul Chubb fill out an amusing ensemble. Even the get-a-US-release stunt casting of John Goodman, as a Brown's even-tempered American rival fits nicely.

In addition, the design of the film is wonderfully evocative of late sixties Australia, complete with garish curtains, funky wallpaper, beehives and bowler hats. The soundtrack, produced by You Am I frontman Tim Rogers, is an amusing combination of vintage Oz-rock oldies (the title tune, performed by AC/DC and covered in the end credits by You Am I with Tex Perkins)and knowing modern-day covers. But there are flaws, very big ones on both sides of the camera.

While he demonstrates a keen eye for local colour and ocker humour, (witness "Idiot Box" and "Mullet") David Caeser is no action filmmaker. The car chase scenes are very poorly shot and flatly edited, with little sense of perspective or coherence. The low budget shows in a severely unconvincing opening sequence, set in Vietnam, but looking all-too-obviously like rural New South Wales. His screenplay works hard to pull off a "Snatch"-style multiple-whammy climax, but the pacing is off and there isn't enough build-up for it to really work. The romantic sub-plot featuring Sam Worthington (as Brown's straight-arrow nephew) and Kestie Morassi (as Brown's mistress) is flat and entirely predictable.

Relative newcomer Worthington sadly sticks out like a sore thumb among the otherwise distinguished ensemble with an inexpressive, lifeless performance, which undermines certain crucial scenes. Morassi is however a definite find and will certainly be one to watch in the future.

A lot of excellent talent has gone into making "Dirty Deeds" and that only serves to make the end result an even greater disappointment.

A truly Australian film which captures the life of mobsters in the Cross in Sydney in 1969. Very funny and even true to some facts, this movie is worthwhile to see and if you still think Americans dont belong in Australia, well, this is for you. Plenty of plot twists help to keep it going and even if you dont understand the language, if its on DVD you can just turn on the subtitles.

Dont see it if you're not Australian - but if you are its a 8/10 easily.

True story, in the 1960s the American government was trying to control Vietnam and the American Mafia wanted to take over organised crime in Australia.

Both failed, we know about Vietnam, this movie fictionalises what happened in Australia and uses it as a metaphor for what happened in Vietnam (and what is happening in Iraq today).

It is fun, it is very Australian (it has Bryan Brown in it, what more can I say), it downplays Australian criminals abilities but shows them as brutal thugs capable of some quick thinking.

It is not an American bashing movie and has a pro-American message and an Anti-American message that Americans could learn from. Which is basically, America we like you, we like your Pizza, but if you want to go out in the world you got to learn to play nice because the rest of the world is much tougher than you and will scone you if you don't.

It also lovingly shows how backward Australia was in the 1960s (no pizza, no colour TV), so everyone gets a fair suck of the sav (if you understand my meaning).

A nice little mix of genres; gangster movie, period flick, fish out of water story, and even a travelogue!

The cast is excellent, even though I have trouble buying John Goodman (an actor I adore) as a wiseguy. Sam Worthington comes across great as a slightly naive kid with a good heart just rolling with the punches and unsure of himself. Bryan Brown performs admirably, Toni Collette continues to wow me (I had no idea she was actually an Aussie) and the rest of the cast acquits themselves well.

All in all, a really charming movie chock full of 60's era flourishes and cultural differences. Very entertaining.