By EWAN McDONALD
(Herald rating: * * * )
They're making so many good movies across the Ditch these days that when you read that this one has been reviewed as "the best Australian film for at least five years", it's time to push play.
Part thriller, part romance, part black comedy,
this is a three-handed tale revolving around young, innocent Ben Madigan (Tom Long) who gets a job as a personal injury assessor for a large insurance company.
When he notices that Ben wants to treat the claimants with compassion rather than distrust, the boss, John Kreisky (Bryan Brown), asks the young man to participate in an "experiment" — skimming money from the company through fraudulent claims supplied by Kreisky's lawyer girlfriend, Louise Roncoli (Claudia Karvan). Despite his reluctance on both fronts, Louise seduces Ben and draws him into their criminal world.
Long reprises the role as the sincere but slightly goofy young man that he played in SeaChange and The Dish. Brown, who was alongside Long in Two Hands but is better known for Gorillas In The Mist and Cocktail, is his usual rumpled self, while Karvan (The Secret Life Of Us, Paperback Hero, Dating The Enemy) clearly has fun playing a nasty operator.
Best Aussie movie in five years? No, but thanks to director Alan White (Erskineville Kings), it's got a fine cast and script, slick feel, classy locations, takes a few risks with a quirky story and almost gets away with it.
Running time: 93 mins
Rental: Today
