Hence to be known on our shores as The Snowtown Murders Justin Kurzel's directorial debut is an incredibly savage film about "the relationship between a vulnerable teenager and a father figure who is revealed to be the worst kind of bully".
Elizabeth Harvey (Louise Harris) is raising her three boys in Adelaide's poor northern suburbs. After her latest boyfriend displays pedophilic tendencies, she takes up with a new man, hoping for security but instead winds up welcoming an even more vicious predator into her home.John Bunting (Daniel Henshall) is the moral compass among a circle of friends who hold self-appointed neighborhood watch meetings at the kitchen table. Fueled by cigarettes and beer they cast judgments on those living around them. Bunting enlists his crew in acts of sadistic vigilantism on those he considers deviants takes Elizabeth's son Jamie (Lucas Pittaway) under his wing. In a mix of misdirected hero worship and terror, Jamie becomes an accomplice to a spree of torture and murder.
Winner of the Jury Prize at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival and winner of 4 Australian Academy Awards this quiet yet unrelenting crime drama is a clear winner in our books. Shelagh wrote in her review, "...he (Kurzel) shows an incredible maturity and control over such sensitive and difficult material. It is an incredibly well-crafted, well-acted, and deeply affecting film". Though Alex's review wasn't as glowing he did note, "The pregnant pauses are full of suspense and drama that are remarkably effective and despite his actions, Vlassakis remains surprisingly sympathetic and relatable".
The Snowtown Murders arrives nationwide on VOD from IFC Midnight February 29 before opening in New York on March 2nd with a larger rollout planned after that.