Son of a Gun, 2014
Directed by Julius Avery.
Starring Brenton Thwaites, Ewan McGregor, Alicia Vikander, Matt Nable, Damon Herriman, Nash Edgerton and Jacek Koman.
SYNOPSIS:
An incarcerated career criminal offers protection to a young inmate who has to return the favour by orchestrating his prison escape upon being released and assisting in a multimillion dollar gold heist.
A 19 year old felon is sent to prison for a six month term where he encounters a notorious bank robber serving a two decade sentence who is impressed by his fearlessness in approaching him and thwarting a sexual assault of an inmate. With the looming threat of the sexual predators turning their attention towards him, the teenager is offered protection by the career criminal in exchange of arranging a daring helicopter prison escape.
While hiding from the authorities, an opportunity for a multimillion dollar gold heist is presented to the wanted outlaws; they decide to pull it off only to find themselves being betrayed. The need for revenge and reclaiming the spoils of their labour takes precedent; however, the quest is compromised by the questionable motivations of the protégé and mentor that may fatally divide them.
Little time is wasted in getting the story going as the opening shot begins with the character of JR (Brenton Thwaites) being transported to prison wearing handcuffs. It is a sign of things to come as the first act concludes with the prison escape and the heist happens halfway through the crime thriller. Interestingly, despite the events continually being propelled forward there is a slow burn atmosphere to cinematic proceedings which provides breathing room between the action sequences and an opportunity to develop the on-screen relationships.
At the emotion centre of Son of a Gun is the father and son chemistry between Ewan McGregor (Trainspotting) and Brenton Thwaites (Maleficent); McGregor seems to relish the idea of playing a charming villain while Thwaites is able to convey a sense of naiveté as he learns his way through the criminal underworld. As for the divisive love interest who may or may not be a femme fatale Alicia Vikander (A Royal Affair) is able to hold her own and be more than just eye candy.
The Australian landscape where the action unfolds is not the one of tourist brochures but in a godforsaken country filled with isolation and treachery. There are elements of cliché like the use of chess and having the Russian mob as one of the adversaries. Exposition is cleverly handled as offhanded remarks and the revelation that JR cannot swim does have a payoff in the end. In regards to the conclusion, let’s just say that even amongst all of the bleakness some humanity can still shine through.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie ★ ★ ★ ★
Originally published October 18, 2014. Updated April 13, 2018.
