Review: Cut Snake

Set in the 70s, Alex Russell plays Sparra, engaged to Paula (Jessica de Gouw), who is unaware of Sparra’s previous criminal past that he has been trying his best to put behind him anyway. Unfortunately, the recently released from prison Pommie (Sullivan Stapleton) comes to visit his ‘ol mate Sparra, and although able to turn on the charm for Paula, he is ultimately very keen to remind Sparra of their past connection. Pommie is also a violent thug who is not really looking to stick to the straight and narrow.  Just what kind of hold does Pommie have over the comparatively meek Sparra?

 

A surprisingly good performance by Sullivan Stapleton and a twist about 30 minutes in that I certainly didn’t expect, aren’t quite enough to get this 2015 Aussie crime flick from director Tony Ayres (mostly a short film writer/director and producer of a lot of TV shows) over the line. The finale is right out of a frigging Jimmy Cagney movie, and a couple of cornball coppers seem similarly inspired by 40s/50s crime melodrama. Meanwhile, the music score by Cornel Wilczek (“Save Your Legs”, “These Final Hours”) is pretty unsubtle. These elements don’t seem to gel with the rest of the film, which is far grittier.

 

Stapleton, who I’ve never really rated before, seems to have watched Robert Mitchum in “Cape Fear” in preparation for this, it’s something about the way he carries himself that is unnerving and physically intimidating even without laying a finger on someone. In fact, all three of the lead performances are very fine, with Alex Russell well-cast, and a lovely Jessica de Gouw trying her best with a fairly naïve character to play. Scripted by frequent TV writer Blake Ayshford, the aforementioned twist wasn’t predicted by me, but the rest is a tad predictable. Also, some might feel that the twist is somewhat on the nose from a moralistic stand point, I suppose. It’s certainly a tad old-fashioned in its thinking, it’d make sense if the film was actually from the 70s, instead of being set in the 70s, actually when attitudes were more conservative. I did, however like the look of the film, where it was clearly set in the 70s without going into rather corny cliché.

 

Well-acted crime flick isn’t without interest, but tends towards unconvincing melodrama at times, especially towards the end. An insistent music score doesn’t help. Not-bad, but not great either.

 

Rating: C+