The Hard Word

G'day, mates. Here we have a little triffle from Down Under that wants to be all Hollywood, and does a pretty bang-up job without the big bikkies Hollywood woulda spent but with some damn fine Aussie star power to make up for the lack of moolah. The Twentyman brothers, for whom armed robbery is a piece of piss, have a bloody bonzer lurk going with their lawyer and some local cops--they're all in on a scheme to knock over armored trucks--but now it's all gone wrong. Dale Twentyman (Guy Pearce) is having a bit of a blue with his sheila, Carol (Rachel Griffiths), whom he suspects of a naughty with the lawyer, Frank (Robert Taylor), while Dale's been in stir; worse, Dale figures Frank is about to pin their latest score entirely on the Twentyman boys. So it's time for the Twentymans to strike out on their own. One last big caper later, much blood has been spilt, a giant cow has been infiltrated, and many sausages have been stuffed (don't ask). The accents and the slang may make it a bit of a slog for non-Aussies, but the language of funny-gross crime comedy is international. It's the fair dinkum article--consider giving it a burl. A strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary by writer-director Scott Roberts, an isolated score option, a five-minute behind-the-scenes featurette, a three-minute “From Storyboards to Screen” montage, a “Meatierology” text glossary of butcher's speak as explained by Roberts, a montage music video of the opening theme by David Thrussell, cast and crew bios, and a trailer. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a winning little film.] (M. Johanson)