BlueTongue Films have been a staple of the Australian filmmaking scene for some time now; most notably remembered for a string of successful short films and music videos that made Joel Edgerton a household name. In more recent times they have been involved with some of Australia’s most successful international exports in feature film, with a resume boasting Animal Kingdom and The Rover. Felony is the newest addition to an ever-growing showreel for the team at BlueTongue.
It stars Edgerton as Sydney detective, Malcolm Toohey. After celebrating a big bust a little too hard, Toohey hits a young boy on his drunken drive home and,in the midst of the chaos and adrenaline, lies to exonerate himself. This is the catalyst for a series of events that grows into something much bigger than Toohey can control: A question of morality and ethics and the power of conscience, the guilt of his crime grows as the need to confess begins to outweigh the ramifications of his actions.
The film also co-stars Tom Wilkinson, as a fellow detective, and a rookie cop Jim Melic played by Jai Courtney. Wilkinson’s Detective Carl Summer attempts to aid Toohey, whereas Melic, unaware of the cover-up, senses something sinister and acts his suspicion, which begins an unravelling of the whole plan.
The tone of the movie is tense, with Director Matthew Saville not afraid to linger on a moment to emotionally attach us to the story and the characters. It is well crafted and shot, with a certain visceral feel to the whole production – occasional shaky camera, slow motion and the use of music as a narrative driver for the plot. All three main characters are well written and performed, and are likeable in their own approaches to the scenario they are faced with. Special mention goes to Melissa George, Toohey’s wife, whose character arc is one of the more interesting in the film.
It is a fresh story that has a great central dramatic question to it all, how one spur of the moment event can snowball to change not only one life, but the lives of everyone involved. One common foul of a lot of Australian movies is that they are, frankly, boring. Felony is a terrific example of how to make a good movie through the use of storytelling. You don’t need to have an exploding and airborne aircraft carrier to make a good movie; strong characters and acting working with a concise script produces a decent film… and Felony delivers.
It has all the nuance of any US or UK low budget cop thriller but it can boast it accurately portrays a great snapshot of Australian life at the same time; chief among those is the dialogue – one of the best features of the film. Felony is an example of how you sell Australian cinema, and BlueTongue Films are paving the way for a brighter future for that industry.
Felony is now showing at Palace Electric Cinema.
