Detective Jane "JJ" Wilson - Homicide: Belinda McClory
Detective Robert "Robbie" Walsh - Homicide: John Brumpton
Screenplay/Direction: Jon Hewitt
Director of Photography: Mark Pugh
Editors: Alan Woodruff, Cindy Clarkson
Original Music: Neil McGrath |
It is still an all too rare experience to watch a film that contains a strong central character, an equal amongst equals, who just happens to be female. Detective Jane "JJ" Wilson in Jon Hewitt's latest film "Redball" is just such a character and the film is all the stronger for that.
"Redball" horrifies in its portrayal of police corruption. It reveals a complex web of relationships which, combined with the high pressure nature of the work, too easily lead to abuse of power. "JJ" Wilson joined the force, as she tells us in the opening sequence, in the hope of doing good, now she finds herself losing her grip under the pressure of a particularly disturbing case. We want to like her but are shocked when she viciously attacks a witness under interrogation. We feel with her as she struggles with the suspicion that her partner, "Robbie" Walsh, is not only involved in corruption, but is actively hindering their investigation of a child murder. We love her and we hate her, but we cling to her because she is the best of a bad lot - as one of her colleagues says: "we're cops, we can do anything we like."
Rather than a traditional narrative we are presented with episodic insights into aspects of the working lives of a range of police - homicide, drugs, vice. These episodes are linked in a darkly humourous way by the recurring problem of a floater - a body so badly decomposed that it has floated to the surface of the beautiful Yarra - yes, this is a film in Melbourne with a largely local cast. The police who discover the body immediately work out ways of literally pushing it into another jurisdiction so that they do not have to deal with the messy and unpleasant job of retrieving it.
The performances are tremendous, particularly from Belinda McClory ("Janus", "Life", "The Matrix") as "JJ" Wilson. John Brumpton ("Night Out", "Life", "Dance Me To My Song") is excellent as "Robbie" Walsh, "JJ"'s partner. They are supported by a range of impressive performances such as those from Sharon Leigh Stewart and Asher Keddie as the young women who are forced to have sex with two police officers. The soundtrack is great, featuring among others - The Powder Monkeys, Crow, Cordrazine and Philippa Nihill.
"Redball" was made on the proverbial shoestring. Unable to secure initial funding because of the controversial subject matter, Hewitt decided to go it alone. The film was shot on digital video and blown up to 35mm giving it a grainy appearance that beautifully suits its subject matter. It was mostly shot on location and at night over five weekends and cost $450,000.
"Redball" is police slang for a high-priority case which generally places investigating officers under extreme pressure. The film is in the tradition of tough, rough, hyper-realistic police drama. It is dark, energetic, and disturbing, full of irony and black humour. There are no easy answers here.
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