A man tries to clean up a body for the mob.
HATCHBACK is used with permission from Riley Sugars. Learn more at rileysugarsproductions.com.au.
Vince is charged with cleaning up a dead body for the mob. But it's a big job and he has to enlist the help of his brother-in-law, Ted, who has been visiting with Vince and his wife.
But Ted, though amiable and chatty, is dim-witted, and his presence is more of a hindrance and help to Vince. And Ted might just put Vince in a sticky position, especially as the urgency of his task begins to catch up with them.
Directed by Riley Sugars from a script co-written by Sugars and Chloe Graham, this crime comedy is a mash-up of Weekend at Bernie's and Reservoir Dogs, mixing the macabre with the inept with often darkly hilarious results. With its comedy of errors, riotous dialogue and clash of dire consequences and doofus circumstances, it would almost be a caper. But the clever storytelling hews close to character as its driving force instead of a pile-up of plot points, making for awkward humor and genuine suspense.
The premise is fairly simple, as Vince is charged with the gruesome task of getting rid of a body for the mob. Hard-edged and tough, Vince seems to fit into the criminal mold, and the film opens with the dark, lurid shadows, dynamic camerawork and tense musical score of a classic action thriller. But when Ted enters the picture -- dressed in suspenders and driving a hatchback for the disposal vehicle -- the film shows it has something more unexpected up its sleeve, subtly shifting its style to let its characters and their mismatched temperaments come to the fore.
The film toggles between hard-boiled crime drama and odd-couple comedy, with Ted emerging as the biggest obstacle in an increasingly complicated situation. Ted is fairly idiotic, though sweet and well-intentioned, and actor Jackson Tozer has a lot of fun with the performance. He's never overly broad with his characterization, tapping instead into Ted's desire to prove himself as cool, smart and capable as Vince. As Vince, famed Australian comedian Stephen Curry plays off Tozer well, delivering acerbic, sarcastic riffs and comments about Ted's foibles, mistakes and misplaced impulses. It's a nimble, nuanced performance, as Vince gradually loses his focus and drive, sapped as he is by Ted's incorrigible incompetence.
Clever and smart with excellent writing and direction, HATCHBACK is ultimately a dark comedy, though it blends elements of crime thriller so well into its DNA. Despite everything, Vince and Ted come so close to succeeding and perhaps even finding a working rhythm between them, and certainly, the audience comes to enjoy their oil-and-vinegar chemistry. But its ironic ending comes about because of the unchallenged ineptitude of its characters -- Ted for simply being Ted, and Vince for being so distracted by Ted's antics that he loses sight of the bigger picture.
Негізгі бет Фильм және анимация HATCHBACK | Omeleto Comedy
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