Dogged by noir twists

The Square (MA15+) 3½ stars National release THE faithless wife, the greedy lover, the supposedly perfect plot that goes dramatically wrong: the elements of the good old-fashioned thriller work as well today as they ever did, as stuntman turned film director Nash Edgerton proves in his first feature, The Square.

Claire van der Boom in The Square, a distinctively Australian thriller that combines predictability with a welcome stab at originality

The Square (MA15+) 3½ stars National release THE faithless wife, the greedy lover, the supposedly perfect plot that goes dramatically wrong: the elements of the good old-fashioned thriller work as well today as they ever did, as stuntman turned film director Nash Edgerton proves in his first feature, The Square.

From Double Indemnity to Body Heat and beyond, beautiful women have been tempting their lovers with not only their bodies but the opportunity to relieve their husbands, or perhaps an insurance agency, of cash. It all seems so easy when you're in the heat of passion, and proves so difficult, and dangerous, in practice.

Edgerton's protagonist is Ray Yale (David Roberts), a middle-aged building constructor in a loveless marriage with Martha (Lucy Bell) and in the throes of passion with the luscious Carla (Claire van der Boom). The opening sequence depicts one such rendezvous: a car is parked beneath a bridge and there's obviously a lot of activity going on inside it, activity observed by two dogs in another car. Right from the start there's an original touch to the screenplay by Nash's actor brother Joel, in collaboration with Matthew Dabner. The lovers are betrayed by the fact their respective dogs have developed a yen for one another: Carla's dog keeps swimming the river which separates the lovers' homes to wind up at Ray's front door.

It seems Carla's husband Greg (Anthony Hayes) is involved in some sort of criminal activity, and when Carla discovers a stash of money hidden in the roof of her house, she persuades the reluctant Ray to steal it and set fire to the house to conceal the theft.

That this will go wrong is clear from the beginning; it's how Ray gets himself deeper and deeper into the mire that keeps the plot boiling along. I don't remember seeing Roberts before, but he makes a strong impression as a not very bright man who gets seriously out of his depth. Perhaps it was a mistake to make him corrupt from the start (he's taking kickbacks on the construction work), because it's important that the audience identifies with Ray and the plight of his own making that he's incapable of handling. The rest of the cast, including Joel Edgerton as an arsonist hired by Ray (one of his many mistakes) and Brendan Donoghue as a possible blackmailer who meets a sticky end, make strong contributions. It's good to see old reliables such as Bill Hunter and Peter Phelps, albeit in small parts.

I'm a sucker for film noir, and though much of The Square is predictable, there's also a welcome level of originality. Some of the plot developments fail to convince and the ending is a bit of a problem, but it's good to see this kind of film being made in Australia, and made as well as this one is. The film was shot on location in Woronora in Sydney's Sutherland Shire, and Edgerton and his excellent cinematographer Brad Shield make powerful use of the district's river, bridges and out-of-the-way communities. Add the fact that the action unfolds during the Christmas period (there's a carols by candlelight picnic), and the result is a distinctively Australian thriller made with more than a touch of class.