 Movie
Reviews
with Evelyn Gough
Dirty Deeds (MA)
Written and Directed
by David Caesar
 Barry (Bryan Brown) and Ray (Sam Neill). Photo credit: Lisa Tomsetti
Remember 1969? Aussie director David Caesar (Idiot Box, Mullet) takes audiences on a time warp back to the days of big hair, eyeliner, short skirts, great music and unfortunate decor in his latest film Dirty Deeds.
Of course some things never change. Crime, corruption, crooked cops... In Dirty Deeds we're introduced to crime boss Barry Ryan (Bryan Brown). He makes a good living operating illegal poker machines around Sydney's unregulated clubs. On the payroll is corrupt cop Detective Ray (Sam Neill); shacked up with a comfy little love nest is his mistress Margaret (Kestie Morassi) and at home is his sassy wife Sharon (Toni Collette).
Everything's beaut - bloody oath it is - apart from the odd hiccup like other crims trying to blow him away.
When his nephew Darcy (Sam Worthington) returns from a tour of duty in Vietnam the young man admits he doesn't know how to do anything apart from shoot people and blow things up. Perfect credentials for working with Uncle Bazza!
All is sweet, until two Chicago mobsters (John Goodman and Felix Williamson) turn up and try to muscle in on Barry's action.
Time to take a little hunting trip out in the middle of nowhere...
A black comedy, a crime thriller and a lesson in how not to make a pizza, Caesar's Dirty Deeds is sure to enthrall those who like their movies gritty, humorous and violent while Geoffrey Hall's evocative cinematography takes us back to hazy Summer days with red brick houses, red and blue taxis and bright red blood. Pints of it, splattered everywhere. And just as colourful is the language.
Caesar also fills the film with sharp cultural references and comments on America's view of the world. It's so densely layered that it might take you a couple of viewings to take it all in.
Take a step back in time with a fantastic cast and a talented filmmaker and "get ready to get dirty".
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