So on my first day of Fall Break, I scoured Netflix (because what else are you supposed to do over Fall Break?) and happened upon an Australian movie that Netflix categorizes as a thriller crime drama. Close enough. Not so coincidentally, it stars one of my favorite actors from NBC's Revolution, David Lyons.
Swerve chronicles the unfortunate Colin (Lyons) after he witnesses a car crash in the middle of the Australian Outback. A drug dealer is killed after swerving to avoid another car, which was being driven by Jina (Emma Booth). Colin discovers a suitcase full of money and, wanting to do the right thing, turns it in after driving Jina home. But after consulting the local coppers, Colin finds himself caught up in a struggle between Jina and her abusive copper husband, Frank (Jason Clarke), to take control of the money. And let's just say things get a little dicey.
Overall, this film was what I'd call slightly-predictable-but-I'm-still-not-totally-sure-what-happened. Kind of like Lost River. Except Lost River wasn't predictable. I'll explain. If someone finds a case full of money, you can expect trouble, right? And if Hero meets Pretty Blond Girl three minutes into the movie, you can guess Hero and Pretty Blond Girl will meet again. You can also guess that Abusive Husband of Pretty Blond Girl won't like Hero hanging around her, even if Abusive Husband is initially nice to Hero. That was the predictable part.
What made the film weirder and slightly harder to follow is that a random stalker showed up, also vying for the money; additionally, there was a convoluted subplot involving Jina's past lover ... and that's the part I'm not totally sure on. It wasn't explained very well, and the resolution of the random stalker plot wasn't handled as well as it could have been. The final scene of the film also leaves you thinking, "Wait, but .... What?" It was an unsatisfying ending, but it also made kinda made sense, given Jina's character. Maybe if I watched it again, I'd understand those subplots better, but let's face it—I won't be watching Swerve again in the next month.
But! I've never seen a movie set in Australia (the area they filmed in reminded me of Texas), so it was interesting to catch a glimpse of some small-town Australian flavor. (And according to the captions, they spell "tires" as "tyres.") The accents were great, too. All of the leading actors handled their roles admirably. Clarke makes a great Abusive Husband, while Booth succeeded at making me both pity her and wonder if she was a sociopath.
Final score: 7/10, mostly for unnecessary language, the random stalker, and Jina's past lover.
 |
| Colin (Lyons) and Jina (Booth) contemplate their options |
Overall, this film was what I'd call slightly-predictable-but-I'm-still-not-totally-sure-what-happened. Kind of like Lost River. Except Lost River wasn't predictable. I'll explain. If someone finds a case full of money, you can expect trouble, right? And if Hero meets Pretty Blond Girl three minutes into the movie, you can guess Hero and Pretty Blond Girl will meet again. You can also guess that Abusive Husband of Pretty Blond Girl won't like Hero hanging around her, even if Abusive Husband is initially nice to Hero. That was the predictable part.
What made the film weirder and slightly harder to follow is that a random stalker showed up, also vying for the money; additionally, there was a convoluted subplot involving Jina's past lover ... and that's the part I'm not totally sure on. It wasn't explained very well, and the resolution of the random stalker plot wasn't handled as well as it could have been. The final scene of the film also leaves you thinking, "Wait, but .... What?" It was an unsatisfying ending, but it also made kinda made sense, given Jina's character. Maybe if I watched it again, I'd understand those subplots better, but let's face it—I won't be watching Swerve again in the next month.
But! I've never seen a movie set in Australia (the area they filmed in reminded me of Texas), so it was interesting to catch a glimpse of some small-town Australian flavor. (And according to the captions, they spell "tires" as "tyres.") The accents were great, too. All of the leading actors handled their roles admirably. Clarke makes a great Abusive Husband, while Booth succeeded at making me both pity her and wonder if she was a sociopath.
Final score: 7/10, mostly for unnecessary language, the random stalker, and Jina's past lover.
No comments:
Post a Comment