Watch my youtube review HERE!
Felony is the latest film from the Australian film collective 'Blue-Tongue Films.' It's directed by Matthew Saville and written by Joel Edgerton who also produced and stars in the film. Along with Edgerton you have Jai Courtney, Tom Wilkinson and Melissa George to round out the main cast.
The film follows Detective Malcolm Toohey (Edgerton) who accidentally hits a kid on a late night drive but tries to cover it up with the help of Detective Carl Summers (Wilkinson) so he can crackdown on an Asian drug ring in Sydney. The ambitious Detective Jim Melic (Courtney) doesn't think the pieces match up and after connecting with the mother of the child begins to search for the truth of what happened.
Felony is police drama focused on ethical dilemmas and the internal conflict they create in those involved. In this case it's a well meaning police officer who's makes the mistake of driving under the influence and accidentally clips a child in the process, putting them into a coma and giving them brain damage. Edgerton's script is rather fantastic in the way it conflicts you, you're sorry for the kids family but you also don't want Edgerton's character to get caught either. It's also well plotted, with good dialogue and drama. This is all anchored by strong performances from Joel Edgerton, Jai Courtney, Melissa George and most of all Tom Wilkinson who is fantastic though his character is a rather cliché one.
Of course you can't have a film without a director and Matthew Saville does a very good job; I look forward to seeing more films from him. Unfortunately because it is a police drama it does feel a bit TVish (I know that isn't a real word) as does the cinematography which is still good but just doesn't feel cinematic. The film is well made and has a good score but it really is the script and the performances that bring it all together.
Like most films Felony isn't perfect. There are several missteps it takes that though forgiveable weaken the film and the fact that most of them happen in the third act is a bit disappointing. In the end it is able to overcome these missteps but it could have been a much better film without them. Also, I think this film would have benefited from more ambiguity; when he does clip the child that way it is executed made me think that it was possible that the kid might have fainted and hit his car rather than the other way around. I think if it was uncertain it could have created more conflict and drama to play with and further increase the ethical dilemma.
The Blue-Tongue film collective is one of the few organisations that is giving a unique voice to the Australian film industry. It's a group of ambitious filmmakers making use of the limited resources they have to tell unique stories with strong voices. Matthew Saville is a fine addition to this group and I look forward to seeing him tackle something much more cinematic though his does have a very good film in Felony.
4 out of 5 stars.
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