Noise

This film reminds me of classic early Hitchcock films like "Blackmail", "Strangers on a Train" or "Secret Agent". These are films that don't feature a lot of action but instead focus on mood, message, dialogue and the audience's imagination.

I'll omit the customary rant about today's Hollywood action flicks with car chases, explosions, cgi & contrived romances with busty supermodels because you don't need to hear it. Suffice it to say that this film is the opposite of that stuff. Here, in Hitchcockian form, we get a quiet, slow-moving freight train of a film. It sparks your imagination as you work to piece together not just the story but the meaning & symbolism behind everything.

The title of the film refers to an ear condition suffered by the main character. He is plagued by a high pitched whining in his head which could be indicative of a terminal condition or possibly nothing. Similarly, the film focuses around fear and how it plays with our minds... possibly justified or possibly paranoia, but powerful regardless.

The story revolves around a crime, witness protection and an underdog police officer's attempts to deal with it in addition to his own failing life. There is a pervasive feeling of loneliness and disconnection that runs throughout the film, which for some reason reminds me of the Clint Eastwood classic "In the Line of Fire" (about a failed secret service agent trying to wrap his head around an assassination plot.

It's slow paced but powerful. I'd say if you're a fan of Wim Wenders ("Wings of Desire", "Paris Texas", "Million Dollar Hotel") or Takeshi Kitano ("A Scene at the Sea", "Fireworks") or Rebecca Miller ("Angela") you'll probably like this film. It doesn't have a lot of flashy pyrotechnics to hold the attention of the average Hollywood-action-flick-junkie, but if you're looking for a powerful, poetic experience, look no further.

After seeing an interview with director Matthew Saville, who seemed as intelligent as any film maker you could care to name, I was interested enough to go out and track this one down. And it doesn't disappoint. Certainly visually it is wonderfully well executed, and the sound is strong too. The dialog is sharp, subtle, and at points hilarious (and supremely Australian).

Unfortunately, the downside is the disjointedness of the plot line. To me it seemed yearning to be free from a plot line as a major source of interest (and focus instead in the pure dialog and landscape - certainly I feel that's where Saville's interest is). But it wasn't. There are two driving plot lines along the whole film and something happens in every scene, even though subplots are not continued, or often resolved. To me the finale was also ultimately quite generic and futile as a point of interest.

Ultimately, the words 'interesting, but not "great"' come to mind, and it fits vaguely into a bucket with several other Australian films of the last 5 years (candy, little fish, look both ways, Japanese story, etc.) in dealing with the same demographic, themes of emptiness and loss, and being willingly obtuse (artistic?) in its presentation, even if this one does have its own thing happening a little outside of that also.

This is a small film, it could very well have been quality television in the vein of "The Surgeon" or "Blue Murder" as opposed to a cinematic piece as I viewed it (Dendy Newtown). The technical aspects - cinematography, score, sound design, production design etc... are all at a high level and what we (Australians), have come to expect from a film of this genre and budget , but no more. The performances are across the board solid, dry and accessible, and it is a pleasant change to see some newish faces as opposed to the usual subjects.. The script/story is nothing particularly outstanding or original and this style of social comment/genre pic subject matter has been covered by many and various other films over the past years.

But! And this is a big but. In the hands of this filmmaker, writer/director Matthew Saville, all these ingredients mold and mesh into something that elevates every element to serve a singular and defining purpose, that purpose being the film in its entirety, its meanings and commentary that lie in the cracks of all these artists' work and their complementary and beautifully orchestrated synergy .

Having seen the film twice in as many days; Noise is a brilliant film and I highly recommend it to anyone who has a love of silent cinematic exploration.

Now this is what I call a surprise, and one of the best Australian films to come out in the last couple years. Matthew Saville's magnificently striking, movingly sombre and realistically crafted crime drama "Noise" is quite a neat little package that really does over deliver. We follow that of a self-doubting, and tinnitus afflicted cop McGahan, as he finds himself manning a police van in a suburban community that has just been overwhelmed by a group of vicious murders. The script (within the character's make-up), plus the technical side of the production (sound effects) demonstrates some creative brushes with the whole tinnitus angle. Brendan Conwell's convincing lead performance is nothing more than sensational, in what is a vulnerable turn of coming to terms with the responsibility of his duties and the growing fear of his uncertain health. Maia Thomas' traumatised performance is just as hypnotically good. Saville's lean material is high on mood, blunt and darkly engaging on the gradual build-up of the inner-workings of his characters and environment. The location photography is masterfully shot, and the lighting composition also helps provoke an arresting and brooding atmosphere that shrouds the air. The direction of Saville is casually handled with a prominent rich style, and Bryony Marks' alienating music score never overstays its welcome. Meaningfully top-notch and powerful entertainment.

It's been almost a full day since I've seen it and I still don't really know what to think. The movie is Australian so for me it's automatically great, but I'm still struggling to understand some (not to say most) of the movie's elements. The dialogs are as sharp as they get especially between the cop and the killer in the caravan (- What's your name? - It's Mc as in McDonalds and Gahan as in I gahan read the nameplate). The movie also works very well on the psychological level and not just in a Silence of the lambs psycho killer way. I also wish I saw it with subtitles because some of the Aussie slang was just way too much for me.