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.

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.

"Dirty Deeds" takes a nostalgic view of the Sydney of the late nineties as we are taken along to meet a local gangster who is ruthless against his enemies, or the people trying to invade his territory. The action takes place in King Cross, an area where night life was the main attraction.

David Caesar and his cinematographer, Geoffrey Hall, created a film that seems to have been shot in that era, as they have given the movie a faded look that works well with the story they are telling. The film has some funny moments that come at unexpected moments. The inside joke seems to be about how to really make a good pizza, something that might not have been done at the time.

The film makers have to be congratulated in bringing a brilliant cast together for the movie. Bryan Brown plays the kingpin Barry Ryan with equal amount of meanness and humor. Mr. Brown is an actor that is always consistent in anything he does and he should be seen more often. Toni Collette is one of the best actresses working in films, who is at home in drama as well as comedy, and she has a rare opportunity to show her talent playing Barry's wife, Sharon. John Goodman is good as the American mafioso who is outsmarted by his Aussie counterpart. Sam Worthington is fine as the naive Darcy and Kesty Moressi also does a good job as Margaret. The only one that has nothing to do is Sam Neill.

"Dirty Deeds" works well as a drama and a comedy because there are elements of both in it thanks to the way David Caesar presents his material on the screen.

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.

Truly, when will we Australians ever stop wanting to sell this "ocker" cliche thing to the world? I think the world 'gets it already' right? It's like the writer got himself a copy of an "Aussie slang cliche" guide and applied EVERY slang cliche in the book in almost alphabetical order! I mean what's that all about? Even words that haven't been used since the 40's. I am 46 years old and I have lived the sixties and seventies in Australia. People JUST DIDN'T TALK LIKE THAT! Sure we would use the occasional slang phrase or two, but nothing like the amount coming out of Bryan Brown's mouth.

Then the acting...Bryan Brown's character truly couldn't scare a chicken. He was trying to play the 'tough guy' instead he looked and acted more like an fast-talking and obnoxious ol'drunk! His scene in the gym was sad. He couldn't punch his way through a wet paper bag. His expression was'nt tough and menacing, rather one of frustration nad bitterness..

The opening 'Vietnam scene was hilarious! Vietnam? more like Dubbo! Its squeeky clean cinematography made it look like a cheap ad for Pizza Hut. In fact most of the movie was shot like a television commercial with all it's cliche characteristics. The car chase was so badly shot. I'm sorry but cars racing at 15-20 kmph don't exactly put me at the edge of my seat. I've seen better car action on bumper car rinks.

Sam Neil at his worst can't be good for his career. Tough corrupt cop? Right.

John Goodman and offsider just as bad. Cardboard characters with zero dimension.

Newcomer Sam Worthington needs a few years in acting school he DOES have an excuse.

Toni Colette was ridiculous as Brown's wife. I must admit that did surprise me as I have always been impressed with her.

The opening scene featuring Brown and crew with sledgehammers should have been alot more intense. They looked like a bunch of feeble old women as they smashed their way around the club. Half of them couldn't pick up the damn hammers. No impact whatsoever.

Overall besides being one of the silliest movies in Aussie Film history, this film lacked substance, story, dimension and direction.

A most embarrasing and weak attempt at an Autralian 'Gangster movie'.