A tightly wound crime drama that oozes class, this Sydney-set motion picture follows on from These Final Hours and Predestination to continue the stellar run for Australian movies in 2014. With an intelligent and slow burning screenplay by Joel Edgerton, Felony deals with one morally murky question: what price should a good person pay for making one bad mistake? Those hoping for a whodunit will be disappointed; the tension is built through a very precise pace and layered character development rather than a complex plot or shock-factor twists and turns. That the characters are so intriguing and engrossing can be equally attributed to the splendid actors on show. Edgerton leads the way as the respected detective, family man and all round top bloke who is forced to deal with a personally complicated situation, and he delivers an almighty performance with nuance and gravitas. He's not the only one though: Jai Courtney takes a break from hard-arse supporting gigs (Jack Reacher, A Good Day to Die Hard) to bring heft and subtlety to his new cop on the block role, whilst veteran Tom Wilkinson relishes his chance to portray the experienced department head who has misplaced old-school values. A special mention also needs to go out to Bryony Marks, whose moody score is utterly sensational and brings emotion all on its own. Due to a limited release it's unlikely you will be able to catch this on the big screen, but to the top of you 'to see' DVD list this should go.
Review of Felony
