Criminel

THE STORY:

The duplicity of right and wrong is highlighted in this moody psychological police drama when an accident evokes conflicting responses from each of the people concerned.

TOP THREE PERFORMANCES:

1. Tom Wilkinson. His old-school senior detective is charismatic, convincing, and always endearing despite his questionable ethics.

2. Joel Edgerton. His confused and arrogant cop is compelling in his failing efforts to do what he knows is right.

3. Melissa George. Her empathetic and emotional mother shines in her primary motivation to protect her family.

THREE THINGS WE LIKED:

The intriguing plot that transformed all the players - The intense and lengthy stillness of the close ups - The simple and muted palette of Grey, blue & black

THREE WORDS: A Human Story

With so much high-octane expensive Hollywood dreck crowding out our cinemas, real gems such as Felony, Animal Kingdom (which also has the very excellent Joel Edgerton) and Mystery Road seem to get sadly bypassed or even forgotten. That isn't to say that Hollywood can't make good films (or that Australia can't make clunkers), but they seem to be few and far between and distributors who are obviously and understandably in it for the money seem to take the easy way out. Oh, and I really haven't seen enough Australian films to list any clunkers, but what I have seen is of an enviably high standard. Some reviewers here have bemoaned the lack of 'action'. Well, boo-hoo for them. I far prefer the subtlety of writing, direction and acting we get in Felony. Three different kind of cops, all in their way a little flawed, though not in a clichéd way, get caught up in a sad situation, an unfortunate incident which simply spirals out of control.

Edgerton, basically a decent man is persuaded by Tom Wilkinson's old-school cop to tell a lie after he accidentally knocks a young lad off his bike at night while less than sober. Add to these to Jai Courtney's young cop who feels he must do the right thing - though his motives are a tad murky - and you get a complex psychological drama which satisfies at every level. None of the characters is 'bad' or 'good', and each works in a pressured environment.

Edgerton scores double because he also wrote the script. I shall now be off to see what else he has written. If you manage to catch this and like great filmmaking, watch it.

The movie stars a trio of top male actors in splendid roles, so that the intricate and very intimate "Felony" is a police story crossed with a strong psychological drama. Three very different Australian detectives, each one determined to do the right thing, are supposed to decide how to define justice in one specific case and must choose what lines can be crossed and what price may be paid as to achieve it. Director Matthew Saville has perfectly constructed a low-key and realistic drama. These kinds of moral decisions and subjects always end up making involving films, especially when the key performers are as good as Tom Wilkinson, Joel Edgerton and Jai Courtney. Working on a perfect screenplay by Edgerton, the director Matthew Saville has expertly constructed an extremely realistic drama where the malleability of morality in an increasingly difficult situation takes center stage.

Felony is not an easy movie to discuss and talk about. It prompts us not only to consider such confusing dilemma, but also to think about the wide-range human behaviors and how they differ from one to another. Questions are raised by this phenomenal picture; Can we make the right decisions in critical situations? Do we even know what is the right thing to do in such conditions? Could the discreet steps lead us to even a harsher life than a lie followed by nothing more that an agonizing guilt?

Besides, this movie brings us the truth about how judgmental people are! They strive to expose the truth when it has nothing to do with them, and try to cover it up when they're involved or experiencing similar incidents.

I got a bit irritated by the very fact of our world shown in Felony; our world is becoming, day by day, a more brutal and frightening place to live in. Criminals and culprits are freely wandering outside, while innocent people (or those who made bad things unintentionally) are being charged and thrown to jail, not to mention cold-blooded murders and misdeeds (Mal felt guilty at least, although he didn't do anything bad, while those savage pedophiles were far from remorse).

The acting is a first-class. Tom Wilkinson is an accomplished master (I think his part from the script was the best among the others), and Joel Edgerton should be proud of himself for his gripping performance and astounding writing. The screenplay written by him is obviously due to his open mind and prosperous skills. Melissa George was utterly outstanding depicting Julie, Mal's wife, that did what a smart woman would do to keep her family up together. However, I expected watching more on-screen of hers, but she is never short of brilliant, skillful actress. She simply shone with her minor role.

In Felony, The right is wrong and the wrong is right, and maybe not. It's a great picture showing a humane issues and a puzzling dilemma that if you consider carefully, you would most definitely drive safely and cautiously!

Another one of the recent spat of Australian films that have failed to find an audience at home despite good reviews, Joel Edgerton scripted and Matthew Saville directed Felony is a frustrating experience due to it being a film that constantly threatens to become something powerful, yet is consistently bought down back to a level that makes it easy to see why people failed to fork out the cash to see a tale that isn't overly original or as effective as it wants to be.

Starting out in a hugely promising fashion, Felony looks likely to be one of those searing Australian dramas in the vein of Animal Kingdom or even Saville's own under-seen gem Noise, yet quickly descends into a procession of seen before events that culminate in a fairly unimpressive ending. The central scenario that Edgerton and Saville create is an intriguing one and a ripe potential idea and it's clear that the idea was developed first and the strands that follow afterwards and the film just can't keep up its beginning pace that sees some smart scripting and direction take place. You'll be undoubtedly hooked as these detectives look to cover up a shocking accident and thanks to some fine acting the film remains viable despite it's failures.

Edgerton remains a solid if unspectacular core to the film but the continued emergence of Jai Courtney and the ever good work of Tom Wilkinson (here called in to ad gravitas to a film that needed the weight) really brings the film to life. Courtney does some fine work as young detective Jim, even though he is saddled to the films horrid and awkward love story but it really is Wilkinson that steals this show. Wilkinson is both sympathetic, calculated and snarling as old time detective Summer. Wilkinson bites into the script and comes out on fire, it's a joy to see such a veteran of the industry come to our fair shores and show us how it's done and he clearly had a blast with this character. Director Saville also comes up trumps here despite some narrative flaws in the story and his direction honed in film and quality TV like The Slap has clearly set him up well.

While many bemoan local audiences failing to support home grown films, if the films are like Felony there's no reason why we should be forking out hard earned money on films like this. There not bad films but there films that aren't likely to cause people much excitement as truth be told, it's nothing we haven't been witness to before and Felony just doesn't do enough to leap from the pack even though it has some nice moments.

3 side view mirrors out of 5