True History of the Kelly Gang

Starring: George MacKay, Ben Corbett, Orland Schwerdt, Charlie Hunnam, Essie Davis, Russell Crowe, Nicholas Hoult
Directed by: Justin Kurzel
Rating: R
Genre: Western, Drama
2020

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Australian outlaw Ned Kelly (George MacKay) tries to provide for his family while evading justice.

Review:

Tim: Where to begin with such a hateful, awful movie. It's been a long time since I watched a film I disliked as strongly as this one. Justin Kurel directs a mess of a film. I'm sure some people liked this, but I really believe they are mistaken in the film's quality. This is one of the worst movies I've seen in quite a long time.

I loved the opening shot of the film- of a mysterious rider plowing through the Australian countryside. It's beautiful and it draws you into the film. From that point on, director Justin Kurzel completely lost me. I never cared about a single character in this film. I was never invested in the story, in the plight of the awful Kelly gang. They were tedious, unlikable characters. The movie dragged on and on. Despite a few strong sequences, the movie is mostly a bleak, brutal account of an outlaw whose story we've heard multiple times before. Kurzel adds nothing to the narrative, he just wastes our time with a lackluster retelling.

I know the movie is based on a book, but it was somewhat troubling to see a movie titled the "True History" when so much of the movie is complete fabrication. It didn't make much sense to me. It never felt like this movie was trying to reveal something about the characters, or approach the story with nuance. It felt like a story that reveled in the mud and the dirt, the awfulness of humanity. It all amounts to a bunch of characters I didn't like doing things I wasn't interested in. And, the movie lasts for an absurd 2+ hours.

Now, as much as I disliked nearly the entire film, there are some bright spots. The opening scene, as mentioned, offers some incredible cinematography. There's a shootout at the end that was done exceptionally well from a technical standpoint. It didn't make a lot of sense to me and I didn't care about the outcome, but technically, it was impressively shot. Russell Crowe's scenes were among the best in the movie. They weren't necessarily fun, but they were impressive and held my interest more than the majority of the film. The cast is strong. Unfortunately, these positives don't begin to even get close to outweighing the burdensome story.

As far as the cast, I mostly liked it. That being said, I'm not convinced George MacKay is a leading man. I think he's better as a supporting character. He threw himself into this role, no doubt, but I was never interested in his Ned Kelly. I didn't care about him, didn't want to understand him better. I felt no connection to his outlaw. His performance isn't bad, but he wasn't able to establish any connection. I've enjoyed Charlie Hunnam more and more in recent years. He gives a good performance here. I hated his character, but I suppose that's the point. You can't fault his performance. Essie Davis was quite unlikable and I got so annoyed with her character as the film progressed, but again, her performance was strong. The writing didn't do her any favors, but she certainly put in a good effort. I didn't care much for Nicholas Hoult. I like Hoult, but he felt out of place here. Again, the script doomed him more than anything, but it did give him the words to say. He wasn't convincing enough in his performance. Better dialogue would have helped, but some of this is on Hoult.

As mentioned, Russell Crowe is the standout. In some ways, his performance is so good that he makes the rest of the cast look bad. He plays an awful character just like the rest of them- he's not a good nor likable character. But here's the thing- he's a good enough actor that his character is interesting. He reveals enough of something under the surface that makes you intrigued by his character. You lean in, you want to know more. He was given the same problematic characters of the rest of the cast, but he elevates his character. This is something that MacKay doesn't do, nor does Davis, or Hoult. Hunnam gets the closest. The scenes with Crowe's character (of which there are too few) were the most enjoyable of the film for me. That's a big issue with the film, as most of the movie isn't about him.

I guess I could go on, but what's the point? True History of the Kelly Gang is a fairly horrendous film, There's a few strengths that prevented me from rating it even lower, but this isn't a movie I enjoyed in the least and it's not a movie I would ever subject myself to again. There wasn't even a worthwhile payoff at the end. The only reward is that you can stop watching this hopeless movie.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 4.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Ned Kelly, The Nightingale