Deadly (film)

Deadly
Directed byEsben Storm
Written byEsben Storm
Richard Moir
Raland Allen
Produced byRichard Moir
StarringJerome Ehlers
John Moore
Lydia Miller
Frank Gallacher
Caz Lederman
CinematographyGeoffrey Simpson
Edited byRalph Strasser
Music byGraeme Revell
Production
companies
Beyond Films
Moirstorm Productions
Deadly Productions
Australian Film Finance Corporation
Distributed byHoyts-Fox-Columbia TriStar Films
Release dates
  • June 1991 (1991-06) (MystFest)
  • 13 August 1992 (1992-08-13) (Australia)
Running time
99 minutes
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
BudgetA$4 million[1]
Box officeA$25,421 (Australia)[2]

Deadly is a 1991 Australian film directed by Esben Storm.

Cast

Production

Storm first wrote the script in 1987. He wanted to tell the story of Aboriginal deaths in custody and chose a thriller format to get financing and to make the movie as accessible as possible.[3][4]

The movie was shot on location in Wilcannia over seven weeks. It was the first of five features funded by the Film Finance Corporation's Film Trust Fund.[5]

Plot

From the UK VHS slick for the movie:

Streetwise cop Tony Bourke is sent to a small town to complete a routine report on the death of Jimmie Bryant found hanging whilst in police custody.

His orders are clear - keep the affair away from the media and close the case within 24 hours. The local police claim that Bryant committed suicide but the investigation exposes a number of inconsistencies in their story.

In the face of growing suspicion and hostility Bourke befriends the victim’s brother - his cellmate on the night of the killing. Together they are determined to see justice prevail … at any cost.[6]

Release

Ozmovies says of the film:

The film was given a brief outing in a few Hoyts cinemas, beginning in Sydney on 13th August 1992 and the same day in Hoyts Melbourne... The film received mixed to negative reviews in its limited domestic theatrical release.[6]

Reception

Lynden Barber in the Sydney Morning Herald writes "Whatever the failings of Deadly, a timely thriller based around the issue of black deaths in custody, the film can’t be accused of lack of courage." and finishes "Apart from prosaic direction, the film’s major problem is the flagrant miscasting of the central role, with Jerome Ehlers lacking even a hint of the presence needed to lift the story into viewers' emotions. It’s galling to find a film as potentially strong as this ruined by careless decision making. But the "she'll be right" mentality obviously dies hard."[7] The Age's Neil Jillett begins "Although it is about the suicide or murder of a jailed Aborigine, ‘Deadly’ is a fairly standard thriller rather than an attempt to examine the issue of black deaths in custody. The film, written and directed by Esben Storm, has some high quality moments, but it is another case of a half-baked Australian script being made worse by inadequate direction."[8] In the Weekend Australian Evan Williams said "In many ways the film is impressive. It is sharply edited, well acted and the characters, even if overdrawn, are interesting examples of how we see our own stereotypes. But how much better it might have been if Storm had been content to make a simple police thriller with dark social implications rather than a comprehensive treatise on race relations."[9] The Sunday Telegraph's Paul LePetit writes "Sadly, Esben Storm’s well-intentioned film does not carry the conviction that it should with unconvincing plot twists and a poorly-judged performance from Jerome Ehlers."[10]

Awards

References

  1. ^ "Production Survey", Cinema Papers, August 1990 p68
  2. ^ "Australian Films at the Australian Box Office" at Film Victoria accessed 12 November 2012
  3. ^ Sadlier, Lynden (9 August 1992), "New film focuses on black deaths in custody", The Sun-Herald
  4. ^ "Interview with Esben Storm", Signis, 22 August 1995 Archived 3 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine accessed 21 November 2012
  5. ^ Andrew Urban, "Deadly", Cinema Papers, December 1990 p14-17
  6. ^ a b 'Deadly' at Ozmovies, accessed 14 October 2017.
  7. ^ Barber, Lynden (13 August 1992), "Australia's ugly face", The Sydney Morning Herald
  8. ^ Jillett, Neil (13 August 1992), "Little depth in custody thriller", The Age
  9. ^ Williams, Evan (15 August 1992), "Blandness dulls mystery's edge", The Weekend Australian
  10. ^ LePetit, Paul (16 August 1992), "Brave venture loses credibility", The Sunday Telegraph
  11. ^ Connolly, Keith (29 September 1991), "Our form guide to the AFI Awards", The Age


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