Review of Dirty Deeds

Introduction

A movie about Australian gangsters had me scratching my head for a minute. Visions of waking up with a kangaroo`s head on my pillow plagued me momentarily. Something about the idea of organised crime Down Under just seems incongruous, despite the illogic of that assumption. But Dirty Deeds is just that, an Australian gangster flick based loosely on a true story. Director and Screenwriter David Caesar attempted to track down a legend of how the mafia came to Australia in the 1960s. The story goes, that they came to diversify their businesses, were taken on a hunting trip Outback by the local gangsters, then flew home never to bother Australia again, leaving the local organised crime purely home-grown and patriotic. However, further details were not forthcoming, so Caesar decided to fill in the gaps himself, and the result is the black comedy Dirty Deeds.

It`s 1969 and young Darcy heads home to Australia after serving his country in Vietnam, with a plan to get enough money to pursue an idea for a strange new food called Pizza. Meanwhile two family men from Chicago are also boarding a plane for Sydney, to introduce a new kind of slot machine to the Aussies, with a barrel of a gun if necessary. Their presence won`t be appreciated though, as Australia already has slot machines in abundance, so many that rival criminal organisations use sledgehammer diplomacy to get their machines into casinos, and skim heavily from the top. Darcy`s uncle, Barry Ryan is top dog in this business, with a down to earth, and straightforward attitude to business. He`s more than happy to take his nephew on, and make use of his war experience on his own personal battlefield.

Video

The picture for Dirty Deeds is presented in a 2.35:1 anamorphic ratio. As you would expect from a recent film, the picture is nigh on pristine, with a crystal clear image and strong colours throughout, extremely strong in fact, as the films palette is strongly geared towards reflecting the garish and primary colours of the late sixties. It`s a period piece and very stylish to boot, with the gangsters all in natty suits and pork pie hats, and the women in miniskirts and tall hair. The film also follows sixties fashion in the cinematography and editing. There`s copious use of split screens, coupled with a slot machines motif that injects a freshness and originality. The cutting is fast paced and energetic, which plays off well against the great cinematography and expansive (and convenient) Australian locations. This film looks amazing.

Audio

The sound comes in DD 2.0 Surround and DD 5.1 English flavours. It`s a vibrant and effective mix that makes good use of the surrounds. The action is lively and well represented, but the cream has to go to the soundtrack. There is some great and appropriate music in this film, most of it recorded anew from local Australian bands, yet fitting in perfectly with the film`s period and style, not least of which is a cover version of the AC/DC title track. Subtitles are available in English.

Features

The menu design is pretty quirky, and is definitely as eighteen rated as the film, but it`s still pretty nice to look at and in keeping with the style of the film. The disc is fairly jam packed with extra goodness, but not at all to the detriment of the image and sound quality.

First there are three commentaries, all of which are presented in DD 2.0.

The Filmmakers sees Director-Screenwriter David Caesar, Actor-Producer Bryan Brown and Producer Deborah Balderstone talking about the film. They pretty much talk about everything from the story and the characters to the making of. It`s interesting and enlightening, although I did get the impression that it was edited together from two commentaries, Caesar and Brown, and Caesar and Balderstone.

The Making Of Dirty Deeds sees the return of David Caesar this time with Director of Photography, Geoffrey Hall to discuss the shooting of the film, and as you would expect it`s a far more technical commentary, though enlightening as well.

Finally there is a music score commentary from composer Paul Healy. He only pops up from time to time to make relevant comments about a certain piece of music. You can watch the film all the way through and wait for his nugget of information, or you can go to a chapter select menu, and jump to his comments directly.

There is a gallery of 36 stills from the film.

There are 12 filmographies for the cast and crew, as well as the inevitable trailer.

"Baz" is a 4-minute interview conducted with Bryan Brown by Australian early morning television on the day of the premiere. (1.85:1 anamorphic)

Music looks at just that. It`s a 10-minute interview with David Caesar and Tim Rogers, who produced most of the original music in the film. There are also interviews with Bryan Brown and some of the artists who contributed. (4:3)

Get Dirty is a 25-minute making of, with your typical behind the scenes footage and interviews with the cast and crew. It`s pretty detailed and quite good. (4:3)

The mislabelled Out-Takes is actually 8 minutes of B-Roll footage, your general behind the scenes stuff as well as rehearsals. (4:3)

And if you look carefully enough, you`ll chance upon an Easter Egg that will take you to another menu. Here you`ll find Sam Neill`s birthday surprise, a recipe for Sam`s Pink Eyed Pizza and an extended version of the spoof interview that Sam Neill gives in Get Dirty.

It`s a nice collection of extras, bolstered in large part by the commentaries. There is a smidgen of repetition, but the only real snag is the absence of subtitles.

Conclusion

Dirty Deeds is a triumph of style over substance. The film`s biggest drawback is the story, which is thin to say the least. The story hasn`t really been fleshed out over the initial premise of the Mafia coming to Australia and going back to America with their tails between their legs. It`s barely enough to sustain over the 90 minutes, despite the added infidelities of Barry Ryan, Darcy`s Pizza dreams, Tony the sympathetic gangster, double-dealings, back-stabbings, kneecapping and car chases with abandon. But two things, the sheer style and wit of the piece, and the excellent cast performances redeem the average story.

Like most gangster movies, this is a film of anti-heroes, but the characters are pretty well fleshed out nonetheless. Bryan Brown`s Barry Ryan delights in his casual use of violence and chews out his lines with gusto. But with Toni Collette as his formidable wife Sharon, it`s clear to see who really wears the pants in the family. Sam Neill makes an appearance as Ray, a crooked cop who always shows up in time to clean up Barry`s messes, and Neill certainly makes the most of a small role. John Goodman`s character is a little clichéd as the gangster with a heart of gold, a man who has been in the mafia long enough to outlive all his friends and enemies, and has begun to re-evaluate his life, but he still plays the role with strength and honesty. Sam Worthington is excellent as Darcy, who comes back from the hell of Vietnam to enter a nightmare in the suburbs of Sydney. Kestie Morassi plays Margaret, the gangster`s moll to perfection, and she is certainly one to look out for as a star of the future.

It`s a curious mix of Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Crocodile Dundee as Sydney`s gangster community deal with the American invasion in their own inimitable way. But Director David Caesar references all the classic sixties caper movies like Ocean`s Eleven to make Dirty Deeds as stylish as possible. Fast cuts, split screen action and great dialogue bring to mind all the classic films of the period. Weak story aside though the film isn`t flawless. A transvestite gag isn`t followed through, though that may be for the better. (An alternative ending is hinted at in the commentary), but the film does veer off track with some political satire about Vietnam that attempts to make some sort of comment about cultural imperialism, but just doesn`t gel with the rest of the film. Also the ending is telegraphed just a tad.

As a dark comedy, it isn`t half bad. The characters are fascinating to watch and the film is fast paced and snappy. The disc more than does the film justice, if you want to put your brain in idle for ninety minutes and coast along with some chaos and mayhem that will put a smile on your face, then I heartily recommend Dirty Deeds. It`s well worth a rent.