Mystery Road, 2013.
Written and Directed by Ivan Sen.
Starring Aaron Pedersen, Hugo Weaving, Jack Thompson, Ryan Kwanten and Tony Barry.
SYNOPSIS:
Mystery Road is the slow burning tale of an Aboriginal police detective returning to his hometown after a long absence to investigate the murder of a young girl.
Australian thrillers have a tendency to show how very bleak the outback can be and Mystery Road is no exception.
Coming back from the city to take up the position of detective, Jay Swan (Aaron Pedersen) has his work cut out for him as his first major case is that of a brutal murder.
While this may seem like a story you’ve heard many times before, Mystery Road manages to tell it with a peculiar blend of dry Australian humour and little meaningful dialogue – which is both the film’s strength and weakness.
Echoing No Country for Old Men, you’re left with a lot to think about as the story unfolds due to the minimal interaction between characters. You end up judging a lot of what’s going on by listening to tone of voice and watching facial expressions, which allows you form your own ideas as to what’s going on. Our thoughts are mirrored in Detective Swan as he also struggles to find meaning or motive in the killing.
Included in the fairly simple plot, there’s also an undercurrent of racial tension and social inequality explored by the film. Ranging from a downright racist suspect to barely concealed bigotry in the police force, our detective is caught in the middle of all of the problems of the town – something he even admits himself.
Unfortunately, the plot is also a bit of an issue in this film as there are multiple story arcs that seem to be there for little reason and even less explanation. This is exacerbated towards the end of the movie when a resolution is reached with very little signposting and effectively happens out of nowhere. This ends up feeling quite disappointing as the film has taken its time getting to the end and it ends up just giving you all of the information in a lump rather than spacing it out to allow you to savour the conclusion.
Another niggling issue in the film is detective Swan himself. While a stoic lead in a thriller of this nature is to be expected, Aaron Pedersen borders on being a touch wooden at times. This just ends up leaving you wanting a little more charisma in place of a square jaw and steely eyes.
Having said that, a lot of the supporting cast more than make up for this lack of depth in character, with a great turn by Hugo Weaving as the suspicious and untrustworthy police officer ‘Johnno’.
Another interesting element of this film is the small injections of humour that run through it. Seemingly out of place at times, tense scenes are punctuated with small dashes of wry wit that serve to keep you entertained and keep the plot moving forward.
The best thing going for Mystery Road though has to be a certain shoot-out in the middle of nowhere. This scene dispenses with all ‘Hollywood’ extravagance and spreads out the tension in a way vaguely reminiscent of the sniper scene in The Hurt Locker. That may sound like high praise but I feel it is well deserved as this scene brings together much of the simmering tension in the movie and lets it implode on itself – resulting in a finale both underplayed and expertly handled.
All in all, this film is a solid thriller that overcomes its wobbly plotting by doing everything it needs to with an assured hand and little razzle-dazzle.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Ozzy Armstrong is a Stargate and Rocky superfan. Follow him on Twitter.
Originally published October 10, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
