Red Hill

Sometimes I like a good action movie that is not too taxing, yet still highbrow enough to satisfy my artistic sensibilities.  This modern Australian western/police suspense story, although it has many old fashioned western movie aesthetics,  has some gripping action and a couple of sympathetic characters who are opposite sides of the same coin. 

Young cop Shane Cooper (Ryan Kwanten) has been voluntarily transferred to a countryside town, with his heavily pregnant wife. The reason at first is not explained why he elected to move to a smaller municipality. On his first day at work, there is an accident at a prison some miles away, and a murderer escapes, Eddie (Tom E. Lewis), an aborigine who was put away by Red Hill's sheriff Bill (Steve Bisley). We see the police department is pretty much an old boys network and Bill makes it clear to Shane that he is not very welcome. Bill's close-minded attitude also means he aims to lock down Red Hill and kill Eddie on sight if he comes, implying he is in the right to use such force because Eddie wants revenge for putting him away. Unfortunately for them, Eddie is a superior native tracker and bests the posse again and again, except for Shane, who for some reason he lets go at a critical moment when he sees they share something in common. During a long day and night as they first hunt Eddie, then become the hunted, Shane discovers some secrets of the town and has to decide who's side he is on.

The film had great cinematography and music and I didn't know a single actor at the time I saw it, which is rare for me. There were some too common elements for a film of this type--unbelieveability and predictability in the plot--but since this follows the track of an old-style western, it is to be expected. The new setting of Australian characters set in modern times, as well as the artistic elements makes this a pretty good story and film. Since the character of Eddie had only one line of dialogue, his tragic backstory and Lewis' physical portrayal made for a convincing and sympathetic character. Shane also has a backstory of being unable to shoot the bad guy which also played into the story. The rest of the male cast--the posse and lawmen--were either meek and old or racist and greedy, so that the aspect of Eddie besting them all was too easy.

Claire van der Boom adds a female presence to the story as Shane's wife, but she pretty much is just a catalyst for Shane to come to Red Hill and start the premise of the movie.  This is a male-dominated picture but since it is a retelling of classic Western motifs, it should appeal to many audiences.