Now that I have told the ending and spoiled the movie for you in the very title, maybe we could just go on and discuss the movie, what do you think? I think I had seen part of this flick before, but I rented it for only one reason: to test my newest evaluation tool, the Granniemose weep-o-meter, (not to be confused with the previously used Granniemose sleep-o-meter. The idea was to see if, knowing the movie ended 'badly' it would move Granniemose to tears. Alas it did not. The granniemose sleep-o-meter, on the other hand, was activated at 22. She gave it a good try before she dozed through some boring parts.

Directing, Writing

The movie was based on the book by Robert Drew, Our Sunshine. As directed by Gregor Jordan
BUFFALO SOLDIERS, it shows just one interpretation of the life of the infamous Ned Kelly, the Australian legend , who seems to be a mixed hybrid of outlaw heroes. We in the Us of A have Jessie James and Billy the Kid But the American legends pale in comparison to this Irish/Australian, simply because the enemy of Ned Kelly is a much better foe than the ubiquitous law-men of the old West. We can add a wee bit of Robin Hood to Ned as well. Not only do we get a guy who was wronged by the British /Irish constables and sent to jail, but we get a bit of the Irish/English conflict, and a man who burned mortgages for his friends during bank robberies. He displays the essence of the independent spirit that is the pride of any Australian I know, and he was a guy who dies young, without ever stopping his passionate and glib repartee. The gift of gab seems to have come naturally. And his early death will keep him from ever becoming mundane.

Not that this is the first time that this story has been told on stage or screen. The first known production of the Kelly story was to appear on the night of his execution , a melodrama staged by sister Kate and remaining friends of the infamous Ned. In a scant 20 years (1906) the first movie about Ned was filmed (and then banned as an inspiration to criminals) . followed by numerous productions and interpretations of the legend. There were movies in the twenties (one bad guy version) and 40's and not inconsequentially a move in 1970's with Mick Jagger (of the lips) as Ned, his beard trimmed to accentuate his famous feature. To say Ned Kelly was and is popular in Australia is probably an understatement.

What I believe Jordan has tried to do was add a little realness to the larger than life character, and show just a glimpse of how his life may have played out. But the glimpse is not enough to really get the full attention of American audiences who may not yet know the legend. Maybe it is rather more like a real life where chance encounters occur, and there really are plot loopholes at every turn. Failed romances, characters introduced for no particular reason, confusing connections of one event to another. You know. Reality....

DVD features-

The Director Gregor Jordan does not produce a commentary and the DVD features are sparse. There is a brief feature Ned Kelly in Popular Culture that adds some grounding for the telling of the legend. There are no deleted scenes or out takes. There are some still shots that had better been left out.

CINEMATOGRAPHY AND SET DESIGN

Excellent camera work and authentic costumes for the era make this an movie that seems real visually, although The sameness of all the shots will do nothing to advance the plot or differentiate important segments from one another. This is perhaps a problem that the camera could have helped. Changing lighting, or mixing and changing different color palettes might have helped with audience stimulation. My needs for cinematography may be too complicated. I am still unimpressed, because the story itself was not dynamically filmed and failed to rivet me to the screen. Oliver Stapleton takes the credit or shares the blame.

MUSIC

I know you can get the Soundtrack to this movie, but keep your money unless Celtic sounding schmaltz is your thing. Klaus Badelt has done this before. This movie uses music where music is better removed. Someone is afraid of silence. Yet silence is sometimes necessary to underscore an important moment. I have no real hatred of the score, but I don't care for the use of it.



THE LEGEND OF NED KELLY-sort of

The movie opens with a blurry scene of a 10 year old diving into some water to save another kid from drowning. Voice over by adult Ned explains that the young boy wins a “hero’s sash” for saving a life.

Fast forward to Ned Kelly as a teen (looks a lot like the older Ned) who finds a white horse loose and grazing and rides her back to town for a friend. Little does he know that his friend had stolen the horse from the postmaster, and young Ned does 3 years of hard time. We discover that he was blamed because his father had been a criminal before him one of the convict colonists of the area. So Irish Ned, with his big family is picked on by the local authorities. Ned comes home three years later, ready to work hard to help his family get ahead.

But the constables are not through with the Kellies yet. One of the constables is hot to trot for Ned's sister, Kate. Spurned, he joins the hate-on for the Kelies, eventually accusing Ned of shooting at him. Ned, who was sleeping with an English married woman at the time, has to exit stage left, since he was not even there. He could prove his innocence, but the Englishwoman is not willing to be shamed to save Ned or his family. And to further stress Ned Kelly, his mother is put in jail for three years hard labor.

So Ned hits the road as a highwayman, bringing his brother and friends with him as part of the Kelly gang. He offers himself to get his mother out of jail. They refuse, and he gets to be more of an outlaw , robbing banks and the like. He rails against authority and the local populace seems to be supportive. He plays Robin Hood, and burns their mortgages at the bank and gives them money. This brings the Brits to the scene to apprehend the outlaw as he declares his grievances in a 57 page letter, and goes to War with the representatives of Queen Victoria, led by Francis Hare.

But the wages of sin is....(to quote the 1920 movie) Ned is being pursued, and things are getting rough . Then he concocts a scheme to confront his pursuers. The armor he wore was itself an icon, part of the legend of Ned Kelly.

CAST AND PERFORMANCES -the high points


Heath Ledger-as Ned Kelly-Ledger is surely one of the more beautiful of today's young stars, and amazingly fit into the actual Ned Kelly armor perfectly. I think he was good, but not entirely convincing as the outlaw. More like a guy who plays an outlaw on TV. Tough role, tougher yet for an Australian to play I think. I have liked Ledger in other roles, most recently in THE ORDER. He has not really found the right movie yet, has he?

Orlando Bloom as Joe Byrne- Ned's best buddy. Less of a role but more personality than the star, but , in all fairness his job is easier. Charming, educated, a lady's man. This character at least has some memorable qualities. One subplot is easy to confuse the first viewing. It is his friend Aaron Sherritt who betrays Kelly. Byrne never knows he was part of the deal, that Hare promised to spare Byrne in return for information on the gang. Bloom is one of the most popular guys on screen these days, last seen by me in TROY, but better known as an arrow shooting elf in LORD OF THE RINGS.

Geoffrey Rush as Francis Hare-This is one part that was played impeccably although it is a lesser role. The character is steadfast, unrelenting, single purposed and intelligent. Rush made him seem quite real. Remember him in SHINE? He won an Oscar.

Naomi Watts as Julie Cook-the only romance for Ned, she stays in the film for awhile. Since Ned only lived to 25, it was already a r4lationship doomed, and she will not give up her security and kids to go with him. This popular Australian actress is not at all bad. You may remember her in the American remake of THE RING, among other things.

Joel Edgerton as Aaron Sherritt-An important character, he nevertheless fails to make an impression. Don't any of these Irish have red hair?

Laurence Kinlan as Dan Kelly-a young boy who is doomed to run with Ned, being accused of shooting at Fitzpatrick. We don't see much character development in him, not enough to create a weeping sequence for granniemose, although I cried a bit. His final scene with his friend Steve is very touching.

Phil Barantini as Steve Hart, the good friend of Dan, a member of the gang. Not much to his presence but the death scene as above.

Kerry Condon as Kate Kelly-My least favorite part , the sister with abrasive insults practically goads Fitzpatrick, and seems to gloat when he is put down and humiliated. Tough times, what would I know? I think she is acting much more like a woman of today than a woman of those times, But I could certainly be wrong. I just did not like her, OK?

Kris McQuade as Ellen Kelly-The mom She sounds tough and hard, and not the nurturing type of mum I would expect for such an interesting character as Ned Kelly. She disappears in about 20 minutes though. I think she was good, but I would have liked to know more about her, and Kelly’s father, for that matter.

Emily Browning as Grace Kelly- is this some sort of joke?. I guess the baby at the start of the movie, this actress is a young adult. I don't even remember her to the end of the movie, it comes up blank.

Kiri Paramore as Fitzpatrick-the one guy who can be fingered for the headlong rush of Ned into Australian legend.. He represented a type of bully that was hired to keep the peace by bullying the locals, including the Chinese and the Irish, although Irish himself.

Rachel Griffiths as Mrs Scott-has a brief encounter with Byrne, I guess to show the early popularity of the outlaw mystique. , and for a bit of humor. Not enough and seems pointless. You may remember her as Muriel’s best friend in MURIEL’S WEDDING

OK I think that’s enough of the cast. You will not remember them anyway, trust me on this.

FINALLY

If you are an Australian, perhaps you would like to let us know your version of the Ned Kelly Legend. The movie just is not as good as it could be with a little more humor and humanity added. The voice overs don’t do it for me in a movie that is supposed to be telling a story. I don’t want to watch play acting as a narrative is read , and have to imagine “red mud” or” I have been a rock”because the movie fails to produce even these two images. It would have made a difference.

Perhaps Australians can read the legend of Ned between the lines, but honestly, there is just not enough substance in this film to make it truly memorable.
It failed to bring a tear to granniemose’s eye, leaving the weep-o-meter at 0. Anybody know a real tear jerker I could use to test this device?

This review is dedicated to Lorace, http://www.epinions.com/user-lorace whose comment spurred the experiment.





Recommended:
No

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older