saltaylor Reviews

Confidence (1980)

Capturing shades of grey

[9/10 · 20 May 2002]

Who can you really trust? Your husband of many years, or a stranger you have only just met, but upon whom your life depends?

Janos and Kata are thrown together during the war forced to pose as husband and wife to hide from the Nazis. As they grow closer, the intensity and suffocating intimacy of their new relationship and the circumstances in which they find themselves, forces them to confront past prejudices and assumptions and challenge what they truly believe.

The nature of our trust and faith in others is delicately, yet powerfully explored in this profoundly moving film by István Szabó.

The Hard Word (2002)

If you loved Chopper...

[10/10 · 15 May 2002]

Stellar performances from Guy Pierce (thankfully redeeming himself here after Time Machine) and Joel Edgerton - (best known for playing lovable Will on the TV show Secret Life of Us).

It's a smart, funny movie that keeps the action moving along at a satisfyingly snappy pace. However, the ending is somewhat disjointed and throughout the film you get the feeling that Scott Roberts had lots of good scenes in his head (and they ARE good) that he wanted to put on screen, but that they don't necessarily all work together.

Nonetheless it's a highly enjoyable movie in the Chopperesque genre of darkly funny gritty dramas that Australia is beginning to earn a well-deserved reputation for.