Watch
What:
Red HillWhen:
In cinemas from November 25
Watch Trailer:
Here
Win:
Thanks to Sony, we have 5 dbls! To enter, email sydney.win@rightanglestudio.com.au with the subject line ‘I believe in the panther'Print Email Share
If only for its fetishistic gunplay, Red Hill is a worthy addition to the Australian western canon. There's enough shotgun-cocking here to satisfy an army of Clare Werbeloffs, even if the only person who can aim straight is the mysterious, scarfaced outlaw Jimmy Conway (Tommy Lewis).
Ryan Kwanten, so comically cocky in True Blood, is appealingly low-key here as city cop Shane Cooper (a western homage if ever you heard one!). Having been shot in the line of duty, Shane's hoping for bucolic peace, but Red Hill police chief Old Bill (Steve Bisley, gargling gravel) won't give him an easy ride. When Jimmy hits town seeking revenge, Old Bill gets up a posse... and Shane'll be lucky to survive his first day at work.
Red Hill's pleasures lie in seeing its genre flourishes play out with satisfying predictability and moral weight. I especially liked its homage to the Australian western's indigenous antiheroes, from Jedda to The Tracker. That Lewis also played the tragic title character in The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith foreshadows this town's brutal secret, which the outsider Shane will ultimately reveal.
So why throw in a CGI panther? Ridiculous! It adds nothing, and deserves a hearty "Chk-chk BOOM!"
By Mel Campbell
Format: Cinema
Genre: Action
Keywords: Red Hill, Australian