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

After a few drinks celebrating not being killed during a bust, a police detective clips a cyclist with his car, rendering the young rider into a coma. Covering up the facts of the accident, with help from a superior, his conscience starts to attack both his state of mind, and that of his life at home. Something which is noticed by an up-coming young detective...

Ooh, the agony, the moral conundrum. It's pretty much a morality play, one that is very well mounted by the makers. Written and starring Joel Edgerton, it also stars Tom Wilkinson, Jai Courtney and Melissa George. After a quick-fire opening the pic settles into a brooding sense of emotional torture, a slow burn approach that casts caustic eyes over police cover ups and the folly of the human condition. A potential romantic thread feels unnecessary, while some of the dialogue leaves a lot to be desired, but with Wilkinson shining, Mark Wareham's photography the same, it's a better than average morally tinged drama. Though the ending will infuriate some... 6/10

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.

What a pretty good surprise this movie from the Aussies. Not a film which could be similar to thousands ones. Pretty realistic too, closer to reality than most crime features that we see everywhere. I don't remember having already watched such a very same scheme, involving a cop in a sort of hit and run affair; not exactly but nearly...It is definitely a cop show but without being a crime movie. In summary, a very unusual film which deserves to be shown.