Australian Rules

Australia Rules begins like most sports movies. We follow a ramshackled team of underdogs as they prepare to play in the final of an Australian football match. However, the film quickly becomes a race drama showing the conflict in the team between the white and superior Aboriginal players, which manifests itself on the whole small town. We follow Blackie, played charismatic by Gary Black, whose best friend is Aborigine Dunby Red, the team's star player.

The film's topics are handled well, without dipping into cliché. The pacing of the film is excellent, showing how racial conflicts can escalate. However, the third act of the film lets it down. The film seems to be building to the race problem exploding, but instead fizzles out. The lack of conclusion is frustrating, although realistic.

The main problem is not so much that the film is bad. It's not. It just feels like it is going over similar ground to many films before. While always being enjoyable, it is never gripping. The direction by Goldman, particularly in the sports scenes, is very perfunctory.