Red Hill was surprisingly pleasing to watch. As the movie started out, I was cursing the stupidity and annoying “story” arcs that are so prevalent in this type of dark drama. However, by the end of Red Hill I felt the pull on the heart strings and understood the growth of the characters.
The movie opens with a young constable, or officer, (it’s an Australian movie) moving into a small town with his wife. As he is heading to work, he examines the small town and notices how there are still horses and the like. While Cooper, the officer, heads off in search of his superior in order to report in, the convict Jimmy Conway escapes from prison. The town is in an uproar because they all know that he is heading back to Red Hill in order to get revenge on the people who put him in prison.
Cooper is sent to guard a road, hoping to ensure that Conway is unable to get into town. Here, he meets up with Conway; and in an effort to “save lives”, rather it is Cooper’s inability to take lives, he surrenders his gun to Conway. In return he is stranded rather than shot. As Cooper is making his way back to the town, Conway begins killing every man in town to gain his vengeance. Once Cooper gets back into town, he tries to stop Conway once again and this time is tied up and is left in the middle of nowhere, while Conway continues his killing rampage. After this, Cooper escapes once again and meets up with the other surviving men. The story continues with Cooper’s quest to stop the killings and bring about justice. There are a number of twists, turns and an unexpected ending that I won’t ruin or spoil.
There are a vast number of deeper insights into the human psyche placed into the storyline of Red Hill. As stated above, one such insight was Cooper’s quest for justice. Throughout the movie, Cooper always tried to do what he believed right and what fit with his moral code. This led to a number of problems and consequences that he had to face and overcome. The major problem surrounded his inability to shoot another person. Even though he was a constable, Cooper could not shoot someone in the line of duty, even if it meant saving another life. He struggled with this throughout the entire movie, until he was able to overcome this problem in the end and pull the trigger.
Another dramatic element placed in Red Hill was the question of humanity. This was evident in both Cooper and Conway. Throughout the movie, both men progressed and the audience was able to delve into why each man made their choices. Along with this, was a deeper understanding into the question of why each of the major characters in Red Hill chose to act in the prescribed ways. This all culminated in a final confrontation in the last few minutes of the movie, which created a great emotional connection and brought clarity to the entire film.
To a mainstream Hollywood audience, the cast of Red Hill was widely unrecognizable. While this is the case, the actors and actresses did an admirable job portraying the dramatic scenes and creating an emotional connection that made this movie so emotionally captivating. These actors combined their abilities into a competent and well executed portrayal of the characters. While most of these actors were unknown, a number of those present in the cast of Red Hill have had great popularity in Hollywood. Firstly, is the actor Steve Bisley. Bisley, who played Jim Goose in Mad Max, was the morally ambivalent head constable in the town of Red Hill. He played the rough, hard case who was willing to do whatever it took to protect his town and the welfare of the status quo. Bisley has played in numerous roles where he is the gruff badass, who nobody wants to mess with, so his portrayal of this role was spot on and exactly what moviegoers have come to expect. Another notable actor in this movie was Ryan Kwanten, from the hit show True Blood. Kwanten is no stranger to the role in a drama, and plays his part, as the young constable Cooper, with stunning results. Kwansten is able to bring about a great amount of innocence and optimism that really made Red Hill connect with viewers. He did well playing the up and coming “hero” that had to learn the hard lessons. Kwansten was able to morph his personality into the various dimensions that this role required.
Red Hill was presented in a straightforward way for distribution. The Blu-ray had a basic, but interesting cover that did succeed in grabbing attention. The menus and options were quite basic, yet contained everything that is expected from a modern Blu-ray movie. However, the special features in Red Hill were sorely lacking. The basic amenities were there like scene selection and set up, but any cool elements or additional information was nowhere in sight. Of course, the Blu-ray offered the same live update feature that many of the new ones possess, but the promise of specials was sorely lacking from even this. This feature promised only additions or previews of other movies and titles.
Finally, I must caution you about one thing when watching Red Hill. Watch it until the end. Throughout the first hour of the movie, I was quite disappointed with the plot and storyline. It was only during the last 20 minutes or so when all of the emotional and dramatic parts connected for me. Overall, this was not a happy-go-lucky movie, but it made me think and consider important aspects of human nature. I would recommend it for a more “mature” audience and only if you are willing to consider implications and immerse yourself in an emotional drama.
