Sunday, September 23, 2007

Movie review - "The Bet" (2007) **1/2

Aussie film might have been better off as a play at the Old Fitz or something. It is handsomely done, with strong performances and an intriguing world - to wit, the Sydney rich and young (drugs, flash restaurants, polo, designer bars, jogging across the bridge).
It feels as though it lacks a bit of story - while the Aden Young twist is effective I think they would have been better off seeing more stuff from his POV. Or at least having Matthew Newton more active - he is reactive, Tim Richards tells him a tip, Sibylla Budd accidentally leaves a file open. Too many scenes repeat info and so on (e.g. all these scenes about cancelling the bet, the scene in the strip club which just goes on and on for no story point - maybe it was something to show the investors?). When you see the poor but honest dad character you're aware the writer has probably seen Wall Street but that had an active protagonist.

No comments: