“You knew there was something different about him, didn't you? That something was me.”

READ our interview with director Tony Ayres here

In south Sydney, a man fresh from jail is menacing an old woman. It's a hot, clear day in an ugly corner of town. He's looking for her son 'Sparra' who, it turns out, has moved to Melbourne. In one sharp scene, director Tony Ayres broad-strokes the canvas and sets up a series of questions that form the backbone of this engaging crime thriller. Who's the man, who's the son, why has he moved, what's their relationship and what, if anything, has Sparra got to worry about?

Quite a lot as it turns out. These ex-cons have an intimate history, one Sparra is trying to leave behind as he starts a new life with Paula. The arrival of Pommie and his charm offensive puts that at risk, especially when the forceful man hatches a plan to raid a nightclub and insists his old best friend is in the middle of the action. His motivation is murky, for despite a rock hard exterior, Pommie has a surprisingly soft centre.

Cut Snake is four parts genre flick to one part surprise, but that surprise is solid enough to turn Ayres' film, and audience expectation, on its head. As with his previous work (notably Home Song Stories) he imbues the film with a stylish patina and makes the most of its early '70's setting. There's a tangible sense of time and place that gives real heft to the story telling. Robust casting in the form of Sullivan Stapleton (Gangster Squad) as Pommie, and Alex Russell (Unbroken) as Sparra brings the film alive. They also help us over scribe Blake Ayshford's melodramatic indulgences, particularly in the finale which takes a sudden lurch toward 1940's Hollywood pulp.

This is something of a departure for Ayres whose previous films, and much of his work in television, concentrates on close, emotional drama. Despite the men's relationship being the heart of Cut Snake, genre conventions keep that at arms length, and audience involvement is reduced. Nonetheless, it is a satisfyingly chunky thriller that also smuggles in some poignant observations about the secret lives of men.

// COLIN FRASER

Previewed at the Sony Theatre, Sydney, on 7 September 2015


READ our interview with director Tony Ayres here