AICN REVIEW RED HILL

From Melbourne Film Festival

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/45919


RED HILL pissed me off in the exact same way that TRUMBO pissed me off two years earlier:

I do not want to see what may well be the best film of the festival on the first day!

I came out of both films realising that over the next two weeks, very little would top it. RED HILL is an Australian western, one that I perceived from the trailer as being a local NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (and although I had to dash out before the Q&A, I'm told the director mentioned that was his intent). RED HILL has a familiar plot, but it uses this to its advantage. Sure, its story beats are the same as that old western you loved, but I guarantee there were seven films that did the same story before that. RED HILL impresses because it uses its archetypes to its advantage. Writer/director Patrick Hughes nails every single moment throughout the film, and in the few times you think he's about to misstep, he turns the moment to his advantage. It's amazing stuff, and a perfect visceral thrill from beginning to end. On its own, RED HILL is an extraordinary film; as part of the broader picture of New Australian Cinema, it is an exciting new piece to the puzzle. See it.