True Love and Chaos (1997)

Director:

Stavros Kazantzidis

Writer:

Stavros Kazantzidis (writer)

Release Date:

22 May 1997 (Australia)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Hanif and Dean steal a cache of drugs from Dean's psychotic brother Jerry, and at the last minute get...

Plot Keywords:

Independent Film

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Naveen Andrews	...	Hanif
Kimberley Davies	...	Ariel
Ben Mendelsohn	...	Jerry
Miranda Otto	...	Mimi
Noah Taylor	...	Dean
Hugo Weaving	...	Morris
Geneviève Picot	...	Hannah
Saskia Post	...	Sam
Hung Le	...	Crazy Craig
Marieke Hardy	...	Out of it Woman
Pia Manning	...	Country Singer
Des Mullan	...	Country Singer
Antoinette Halloran	...	Country Singer
Matthew Dyktynski	...	Rusty
David G. Bowers	...	Neil

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Certification:

Australia:M

Company:

Westside Films

Soundtrack:

One of Us Cannot be Wrong

Road movie, Australian-style

True Love and Chaos is one of those films which you either get into and love, or which leaves you colder than a steam bath in liquid nitrogen. What we have here is a movie which is about nothing at all - four disparate losers drive from the Australian east coast to Perth while being chased by Ben Mendelsohn in beserker mode. For 90 minutes, that's about all that happens. All of which would seem to make for a pretty crap film, were it not for the following two attributes:

i) great performances from just about everyone involved, including the incomparable Hugo Weaving as a grizzled burned-out rocker, Miranda Otto as the love interest, Noah Taylor as a geek and the aforementioned Ben Mendelsohn as a suitable case for the treatment. Like, it even gets a good performance out of Kimberley Davies, and that's a miracle of which even JC would have been proud. (Though she is, admittedly, playing a blonde bimbo, so some may posit there is little acting required.) (Yeah, I know, a cheap shot, but show me a reviewer who could resist it.)

ii) A great scene where Miranda sings "Union City Blue" in a local RSL. And another where Hugo fronts his band before collapsing in a stupor. And another where the gang sits by the side of the road wearing vaguely ridiculous sunglasses. And another where Ben cops an eight-ball to the noggin. And another ...

What makes this movie special is the same thing which made a movie like Dreams With The FIshes special, which is to say it's about people, real people going about their business and making it through the best they know how. It's got a bit of humour, and it's got a bit of heart, and there's even a bit of real tension in one of the closing scenes. It's not a great movie, but it is definitely a good one, and, as I believe I've said once before, that's good enough for me.