Mystery Road

If you like slow burning thrillers set in one horse towns, then Ivan Sen's Mystery Road will steadily wash over you like an Australian episode of Morse. With added guns. However, you may be mis-directed mind by the opening scene that sees a trucker discover the body of a young girl in the outback of a remote Aussie town. What with the murky lighting, the eerie music and a great joke concerning the name of the local creek (I won't spoil it), you'd think you were about to watch a cousin of Wolf Creek. All the same, it's a tongue in cheek start for a film from Sen which moves at a glacial pace at times, but is realistic in the sense of how slow and difficult a police investigation can be. Especially when the main detective in question (played by Aaron Pedersen) is returning to his own town after some time away and finds the locals closing ranks and closing doors. This really is Sen's picture, as not only does he direct from one of his own scripts, he also edits and scores. Thrown in the fact he was also the cinematographer as well, you really can say that the final production is one man's vision. Sometimes such a hands on approach doesn't always work, but despite the tempo not being for everyone, this is a stunning film for all you cineastes out there. It's certainly an antipodean effort with it's portrayal of laid back Down Under culture (the casual purchase of firearms like it's a packet of crisps) played out by its Aussie cast which is a mixture of the well known (Weaving, Kwanten) and a collection of other mainstays who's faces you'll recognise if you follow cinema or TV from that part of the world. Somethings do get lost in the mix though. There are plenty of (unintentional) unanswered plot questions come the credits and the race relations faction of the screenplay feels a little forced. However for an independent film maker the movie is a triumph and the final sniper shoot out is the most mano-a-mano stand off you'll see in cinema for quite some time. Rating: 8/10.