By Jan Hamilton
This Australian film starts off slowly with two middle-aged, bearded brothers biking down country roads in the pre-dawn hours toward their childhood home. They are disguised and make sure no one sees them. Their plan, which soon becomes apparent, is to murder their step-father, so that he doesn’t inherit the family farm when their dying mother passes away. It also becomes apparent that brother Jeff (Clayton Jacobson) has planned it all, with the other brother Terry (Shane Jacobson) simply going along with the scheme.
Jeff has planned for every possible situation. He has arranged for the step-dad, Roger (Kim Gyngell), to meet someone to discuss buying the farm’s only horse. The brothers know their mom (Lynette Curran) will stay in town becuase she will have had a chemo treatment that day. As the plan commences, old problems and feuds arise and real motives are revealed.
I was surprised by how much I really liked this film. It manages to really pull its audience in that they become totally committed to the outcome. There is a lot of dark humor here with some chilling plot twists. Clayton Jacobson, who acts in the excellent film Animal Kingdom, directs and co-stars with his real life brother Shane. The two make a great pair of would-be killers in this dark comedy.
Film Credits:
Director: Clayton Jacobson
Executive Producer: Julia Adams,
Tait Brady #2, Deborah Fryers #3, Shane Jacobson #4
Producer: Jason Byrne, Clayton Jacobson #2
Screenwriter: Jaime Browne
Cinematographer: Peter Falk
Editor: Sean Lander, Clayton Jacobson #2
Production Designer: Robert Perkins
Sound Designer: Emma Bortignon
Music: Richard Pleasance
Principal Cast: Shane Jacobson,
Clayton Jacobson, Lynette Curran,
Kim Gyngell, Sarah Snook
Additional Credits: Director of Photography: Peter Falk,
Costume Designer: Katie Graham,
Music: Richard Pleasance,
Associate Producer: Chris Pahlow,
Additional Materials: Chris Pahlow