The naysayers were saying that 2011 would see the death of the Australian Film Industry, but instead along came Red Dog a film that just keeps going from strength and strength. Now comes Face To Face, an Aussie film that easily slips into my Top Ten Australian Film of All Time. In fact Face To Face is so good that if it were American Film you can gurantee that people would be mentioning its name in the same sentence as the word Oscars… in fact after Animal Kingdom’s Oscar win you can only hope that the Academy may notice some of the fine performances here as well.
Based on the David Williamson play Face To Face sees Wayne Travers (Luke Ford – Red Dog, Ghost Machine) made sits in front of a community conference as the events surrounding him deliberating running into the back of his boss, Greg Baldoni’s (Vince Colosimo – Swerves, Wog Boy 2: The Kings Of Mykonos) Jaguar. Chairing the conference is Jack (Matthew Newton – The Lie, TV’S Underbelly), while also present is Greg’s wife, Claire (Sigrid Thornton – The Telegram Man, TV’S Underbelly), Wayne’s Mum Maureen (Lauren Clair – Matching Jack, TV’S Me & My Monsters), his best friend, Barry (Josh Saks – Phoebe, TV’S Rush), and colleagues Therese (Ra Chapman – Birthday, Knowing), Richard (Christopher Connelly – TV’S Bed Of Roses & Neighbours), Julie (Laura Gordon – TV’S Twentysomething & Bed Of Roses) and Hakim (Robert Rabiah – Out, TV’S Killing Time). As the meeting goes on we learn the events to led up to such anger as Wayne demands to have his job back.
You know if you see a story penned by David Williamson you’re onto something special, and with a little help from screenwriter/director, Michael Rymer (Revolution, TV’S Battlestar Gallactica) Face To Face turns out to be a real gem. Apart from flashbacks most of the drama takes part in one room but so well written is the dialogue and characters that you never grow bored, and the tension can only be likened to what the audience felt when they saw Twelve Angry Men for the first time. With the typical Williamson twists and turns in the plot you want to keep watching as you just have to know how the film will end.
Early I mentioned Oscar Buzz for this film, well most of that must centre around the performance of Luke Ford. He puts in an amazing performance that can only be described as sensational… this is character acting at its very best. Ford is well supported in his role as their isn’t a weak performance to be seen. An honorable mention must also be paid to Matthew Newton who shows all his knockers out there why he still deserves to be called one of Australia’s finest actors.
Face To Face has deservedly won award after award (20 at last count) at some of the world’s leading Film Festivals over the past twelve months. With a terrific script and a brilliant ensemble cast this is one of the best films that Australia has ever made. An amazing film that lovers of good drama will relish.
Year: 2011
Director: Michael Rymer
Stars: Luke Ford, Vince Colosimo, Matthew Newton, Sigrid Thornton
Classification: MA15+
Runtime: 89 mins
Rating: 
Out on DVD/Blu-Ray 2nd May 2012