Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Not even bad in a good way

Nice effects though.

Excellent but underrated film

Arguably a bit slow by western standards, this film sneaks under the wire due to an uncredited cast member who puts in a stellar performance.Australia.This jaded reviewer found the experience hypnotic. Also there was a sense that time moves differently in that country. That what seemed slow to us may be normal to the natives.For example, if this review was penned in Australia maybe it would be twice as long? Sen is a master director who cares about every character, every scene, and every line of dialog.You don't see that every day. Literally.Recommended.

Each time I see another Australian film I'm convinced to NEVER visit Down Undah! What a pit of vipers! Talk about low-lives! Everyone lives in a trailer or dumpy tin roofed shack out in the boons with wild dogs, alcoholic mothers/father, drug addict siblings and friends, gambling, prostitution and winos. They mistreat ALL animals. They defecate where they eat. There are vermin everywhere--bugs, snakes, rabid mongrels. They give you that nasty dumb stare when you ask a question and then they use sarcasm answering and talk about you in the third person in front of their cronies! It's like bad high school! Who'd care to visit? It's amazing these creeps stay but I suppose the ole 'dog that I know is better...' works here too. Anyway, entertaining film with nice pace of action and some surprise but in the end he goes back to the addict shrew of an ex-wife and insolent whorish teenage daughter to try to make amends for his neglect of years ago. After you meet the wife and bitch child, you won't wonder why he left!?

There is a class of film lovers who want to concede and live the eras of film making. Even though they were born in situations separated by time and space, they feel nostalgic about the early and subsequent industrial era diffusion (and its effects) brought in thru history, literature and cinema: The periods when homesteaders entered Dodge City, when London started getting crawled in by villagers or when families from a big city relocated to newly planned adjoining suburbs. If you identify with this description, you've probably got a treasure here.19th century Wild West lives in 21st century Bush! Not that it's uncreative; the history of filmography is etched in this 2 hours intelligent crime story. Referencing the classic westerns to earliest neo-noirs to recent crime features, the unknown director theoretically beautifies the Film making.The score is as quiet as the life itself while as intriguing as its characters. Unbelievably well photographed! Aerial shots and silhouette wides suit the mood of terror in an uncivil, dusty town with principal actors having a gem to showcase their worth. Screen writing concerned me a bit but that doesn't stop me from saying that if given a worldwide interest, I'm sure Australia will unbland the perceptions of Australianness and allow us into new realms of cinematic and cultural entertainment.

My daughter suggested we see this film together. She told me she'd seen it and liked it but also felt like it might make more sense if she saw it again--and on a TV with captions instead of in the theater. This is because this Australian film is set in a very rural portion of Queensland, Australia and the language is very different for us. In other words, while they're speaking English, there are a lot of colloquial words and phrases she just didn't understand the first time she saw it and a few of the accents were a bit thick. I couldn't help her that much even though I spent a few weeks in Australia--this certainly didn't make me an expert on the country. Plus, all the time I was there I was in the much more cosmopolitan portions of New South Wales and Victoria. So for folks like us Americans, the film might pose a few challenges. My advice is still watch it--but try to bring along an Australian friend to help you understand everything that is occurring. Additionally, I should point out that the film is, at times, deliberately vague.The story is about a detective investigating the murder of a young Aboriginal girl. He is himself half Aboriginal and you get the impression that this is really important in the film--but exactly how is, again, something that might help to understand if you have Australians sitting with you watching. What exactly happened to the girl is difficult, as there aren't a lot of apparent clues. And when the big confrontation at the end occurs, you STILL aren't sure who is who (especially Hugo Weaving's character). Worth seeing but confusing and worth repeated views because of this.