Film Information- Dirty Deeds
Cast: Bryan Brown as Barry
Toni Collette as Sharon
Sam Neill as Ray
Sam Worthington as Darcy
John Goodman as Tony
Kestie Morassi as Margaret
William McInnes as Hollywood
Director: David Caesar
Written by: David Caesar
Classification: Ma 15+ Crime Thriller Comedy
Run Time: 96 minutes
Producers: Bryan Brown and Deborah Balderstone
Executive Producers: Xaiver Marchand and Kris Noble
Co-Executive Producers: Hugh Marks and Jennie Hughs
Financed by: Australian Film Finance Corporation
Nine Films and Television and Macquire Film Corporation
Editor: Mark Perry
Sound Design: Liam Egan
Production Design: Chris Kennedy
Cinematographer: Geoffery Hall
Australian Release: 18th of July 2002
Australian Distributor: Haystack Films
Other Distributors: Alliance Atlantis Motion Picture Distribution Group
Hoyts Distribution
Momentum Pictures Limited (fka Alliance Atlantis Releasing UK)
National Box Office: $5 million
Awards: 2002 Australian Film Institute Awards, Best achievement in costume design (Tess Schofeild), Best achievement in production design (Chris Kennedy), 2002 Film Critics Awards Best editing (Mike Perry), Life Time Achievement Award to Bryan Brown.
Interview with Bryan Brown
http://www.webwombat.com.au/entertainment/movies/dirtydeeds_int.htm
Interview by Clint Morris
Other Interviews with David Caesar and Related Crew
Caesar's Palace-Crime Factory
http://www.crimefactory.net/cf008-02.htm
Brown, Bryan and Caesar, David -Dirty Deeds in Urban Cinefile
http://www.urbancinefile.com.au/home/view.asp?a=6342&s=Interviews
Bryan Brown, He's a Bloody Legend - Express magazine
http://www.xpressmag.com.au/interviews/804bryan_brown.htm
Bibliographical Reviews
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/click/movie-10001825/reviews.php?critic=columns&sortby=default&page=1&rid=753175
(Written by Erin Free)
http://www.if.com.au/reviews/dirty-deeds.html
(Written by David Michod )
Sources and Links
http://www.urbancinefile.com.au/scripts/cinefile/Interviews
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/6960/dirty.htm
http://www.abc.net.au/hobart/stories/s637679.htm
http://pub157.ezboard.com/ffilmnetfrm8.showNextMessage?topicID=520.topic
http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hv&id=1808403738&cf=info&intl=us
http://www.webwombat.com.au/entertainment/dvds/dirtdeed.htm
http://www.hollywood.com/movies/detail/movie/471055
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/click/movie-10001825/reviews.php?critic=columns&sortby=default&page=1&rid=785089
http://www.if.com.au/reviews/dirty-deeds.html
Searching for Details
Trying to attain information about Dirty Deeds and its creators proved to be more of a challenge than I expected. Although the film has a good on line presence the content is usually a repeated rough synopsis with minimal reference to the director David Caesar, ironically there were by far more interviews with Bryan Brown. Although this is Caesar's latest film there was more information on his previous films such as 'Mullet' and 'Idiot Box'. The general problem with finding information on the internet was that allot of the official web sites have been taken down, this includes the Dirty Deeds home page at Nine- MSN (which has recently been resurrected). As far as written commentary, I struggled to find anything relevant that could not be overtaken by internet resources. Overall the information found on Dirty Deeds was large but required a great deal of filtering. Overall the reception for the film was fairly warm and open, with the exceptions of conservative reviews.
Critical Review
- Sydney, in the heat of the Vietnam War, Americans are everywhere. There is a fortune to be made in girls, clubs, and gambling and Barry Ryan is doing just that. Enabling Barry to give his nephew, Darcy a job straight out of war service (Vietnam). Life is good for Barry with mates, a wife and son, a mistress and plenty of money, everyone is doing well in Barry's business, cops included. But problems arise when the competition wants to get in on the gig. Freddie the Ferret is constantly trying to knock Barry out of the game and the American Mafia has sent two 'negotiators' to try and buy their way in. To top it off some one close is betraying him. Barry decides to take care of things with help of his wife Sharon.
Barry not only cleans up his business by killing off the traitor as well as the competition. He also manages to set up the Yanks to keep them out of the picture and prevent them from cutting a deal behind his back. Barry mends his adulterous ways by pretending to shoot Margaret and Darcy, thus giving them a new beginning and a new life together. Barry also pretends to shoot Tony there by saving his life and giving him a fresh start away from the Mafia. Coincidentally the three also get to keep the money provided by Jimmy, the Mafia Boss, to cut a deal with Barry and hence they all live happily ever after.
Though the story is fairly straightforward there are many minor stories that develop amongst the relationships that appear on screen. Take for example the relationship between Tony and Darcy, they share a common story even though they are from different eras, they share an interest in pizza and in preserving their lives. Although Tony actually knows how to make pizza it's Darcy who believes that he can make it work in Australia.
Dirty Deeds makes many references to social themes and conflicts in particular the Vietnam War, the place of women in society, loyalty, as well as gambling, addiction and rapidly changing technology. These issues are represented by characters (such as Margaret's aim to go to university), props (such as that of the prototype poker machine) and various audio cues (ie. When Barry and Tony are discussing technology changes). One of the major issues addressed is that of the Australian national identity. Dirty Deeds really 'hams' it up with thick Aussie accents, tough blokes and stereo typical names (such as Darcy, Barry and Sharon). David Caesar enhances the differences between Australia and the rest of the word in particular Americans, setting what remains a very Australian film.
Some of the elements of style used include the red cinematography, which indicates the period the film is portraying. Dirty Deeds makes good use of tracking shots, in one instance where a bullet is tracked through the body of a pig and out the other side. Another example of excellent camera work is the clarity of some of the landscape shots in particular reference to the flight scenes where Barry takes Tony and Sal out bush via plane, into a picturesque land. Other elements that were used well included the presence of Australian rock covers, which emphasizes the high paced action within the film. It is these elements that have accentuated the films intensity and aided its critical uptake at its time of release and subsequently.
The critical up take for Dirty Deeds was reasonable at the time of its release, making $5 million at the box-office on its first weekend. The majority of critics liked the film and most reviews saw the film in a favorable light. Subsequently following its debut at the box office, the film was viewed with a more critical approach. Conservative critics suggesting that the film was cheesy in the way that it 'hammed' up the Australian condition of the period. This was particularly apparent in religious reviewers such as the Catholic Bishops Film Review page.
Less conservative critics, such as those from Rottentomatoes.com praised the film for its intensity, as Erin Free suggests "Dirty Deeds, a bold as brass crime thriller/comedy set in late '60s Sydney, is a wild ride juiced with enough energy and excitement for at least three films.Ó (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/click/movie, 30th 0f April 2003). One of the major criticisms of Dirty Deeds was that the progression of the film was unclear, reviewer 'Clint' from Moviehole suggests that "There isn't really a middle to the film, simply a start and an end. And that end comes all too soon. Just when you're waiting for something more to happen, it doesn't." (http://www.moviehole.net/reviews). There are other aspects of critical uptake that also need to be included in particular that of the sound track to the film.
The sound track from Dirty Deeds has undoubtedly received more criticism than possibly the film itself! Containing an amazing collection of music from You Am I, Tex Perkins, Grinspoon, and many more. This Australian compilation was also put together by Tim Rogers (of You Am I), of classic Australian covers from the 1960s. All the reviews I have located have all given the soundtrack excellent reviews, take for example 'The Fix' a music review site "Its all good Aussie rambling rock and its going to do me the business this summer." (Ricardo-http://www.thefix.co.nz/music/404.music.3.phtml). One critique of the soundtrack was mentioned by Oz Music Central that the album wasn't in order, "The main problem with this soundtrack is its inconsistency, exacerbated by its running order."(Michael Tran http://www.ozmusic-central.com.au). Overall the critical uptake of the soundtrack for Dirty Deeds was especially good, as was the film's. Going to video the reviews remained similar, one comment went on to say, "The video transfer for Dirty Deeds is excellent and the sound - boosted by a sensational choice of music for the soundtrack - is first-rate." (http://www.webwombat.com.au/entertainment), and has also been compared to Snatch and Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
Dirty Deeds was conceived by David Caesar and developed by himself as well as Bryan Brown following the completion of Caesar's film Mullet. During the time of its release Dirty Deeds was competing against two of the highest rating Australian films of last year, Rabbit Proof Fence ($7million) and Crackerjack ($7.5 million). Both of which beat Dirty Deed's Box Office of $5 million. 2002 was an excellent year for the Australian film industry, although Crackerjack rated at number one at the box office it was not any where near as critically acclaimed as Rabbit Proof Fence, which won many awards at festivals such as the Toronto Film festival. In comparison, Dirty Deeds did well to compete against such films, which may go on to be Australian classics.
It must also be considered that 2002 was a big year not only for Australian films but also that of Hollywood with releases such as Spiderman, Starwars- Attack of the Clones, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and The Ring. All these films had high budgets and as Hollywood films dominate Australian film viewing. In comparison to such competition Australian films did surprisingly well especially Dirty Deeds and Rabbit Proof Fence. Realistically it's no coincidence that Dirty Deeds did so well when the caliber of the participants is closely looked at.
Prior to doing Dirty Deeds David Caesar's work as a director and screenwriter was mostly his acclaimed documentaries, but he had released a few feature length films, Idiot Box (1996) and Mullet (2001). His documentary skills can be seen in all his films in particular Idiot Box, which bares the brutality of life in its story telling ability. Dirty Deeds uses the same documentary techniques to develop its story as well as its cinematography however the films themselves share little resemblance. Whilst Idiot Box and Mullet share the same mundane sympathies, Dirty Deeds keeps with its commercialism in action its packed sequences. It was at the Toronto film festival that David Caesar approached Bryan Brown to introduce the concepts of Dirty Deeds.
Bryan Brown is possibly one of Australia's best known actors, serving in the industry for the past thirty years. Appearing in 56 separate films from 1977 such as Two Hands and Breaker Morant, Bryan Brown has demonstrated his talent in portraying the tough Australian male. With this established characterization it's hardly surprising that Brown should do so well in Dirty Deeds. Bryan Brown's other claim in Dirty Deeds is also as a producer. It was a collaborative effort between Brown and Caesar to create and develop Dirty Deeds, taking life experiences, historical references and rumor to put the story together. To his credit Bryan has also has been a producer as well as an actor in 6 of his films including 'The Big House'(2000) and 'Dead Heart'(1996) working with many great Australian and international actors and film crews.
Toni Collette is another important Australian actor with in Dirty Deeds, her most recognized role is in Muriel's Wedding (1994), playing the mundane, ugly duckling Muriel. Her presence in Australian films and international films such as The Sixth Sense(1999) has made her the talented Australian actor she is today. Collette has won countless awards and has been nominated for a golden globe for best supporting actress in 'The Sixth Sense'. As an observation Dirty Deeds has a extremely talented cast and crew that have gone on to produce both national and international films and do extremely well. David Caesar has used this well-knit team to put together Dirty Deeds and the results have been well deserved both critically and financially.
Dirty Deeds is an Australian film that was quickly adapted into contemporary critical thinking and into the Australian film market. Tom O'regan points out that giving value to a film requires an audience to remember that "Films ask audiences critics and film-makers alike to value them, to measure their significance, not only in dollars at the box office but in talk- word of mouth, publicity and critical estimation."(1996, p114) Dirty Deeds has managed to accomplish all of these aspects as seen by its presence on the internet and in the public arena. Although it may never be a classic Australian film, Dirty Deeds will remain a popular film, as it complements current ideas and values. As a result the film will be valued by Australian audiences, as they can relate to the topics and characters put in front of them.
In relation to Australian national cinema as a medium sized English language cinema Dirty Deeds fits into the category. Dirty Deeds situates itself into the mediums sized cinema, costing $15 million to make it is relatively low budget in comparison to its Hollywood counter parts. O'regan backs this when he says "Servicing 18 million people, Australian cinema is not large enough to support an extensive film production industry, nor the scale of local production in higher budgeted movie and limited episode serial television." (1996, p90). Medium sized English cinema generally requires both private and state assistance, Dirty Deeds fits this criteria as its funding comes from the Australian Film Financing Corporation as well as Nine Films and Television. Due to Dirty Deeds' more commercial orientation, it is able to fit into Hollywood mainstream although due to its niche market it isn't likely that it has a place in larger and highly dominated markets. Dirty Deeds is more likely to have a promising shelf life as DVDs, videos and commercial TV.
Written and Researched By Renee Pilkington
References
http://www.rottentomatoes.com
(http://www.moviehole.net/reviews)
(http://www.webwombat.com.au/entertainment)
Tom O'regan (1996), An English-language Cinema, Australian National Cinema, London, Routledge, p 90
Tom O'regan (1996), Formations of Value, Australian National Cinema, London, Routledge, p 114
Michael Tran http://www.ozmusic-central.com.au)
New: 29 November 2003 | Now: 29 November 2003