The great Australian tradition of outback road trips heads down a new road in Last Ride, which heralds two newcomers, as we enjoy a favourite old stager in Hugo Weaving.
Kev (Hugo) takes his 10-year-old son Chook (Tom Russell) off into the night and the wilderness, with little explanation. Apart from visiting ex-girlfriend Maryanne (Anita Hegh) and talk of Max (John Brumpton), whom we see in flashbacks and a park ranger, there are no other characters in this story. It is purely a father-son journey.
There aren’t too many incidents or humour, either. Yet director Glendyn Ivin – his first feature length movie after his short film success Cracker Bag – has two fine actors to carry it along nicely for him. Hugo Weaving shows there isn’t a role he can’t tackle and deliver. Tom Russell as his young son is a real talent, playing Chook as a realistic mixture of na%EFve but not quite innocent.
Ivin’s direction is sparse in all sorts of ways. The soundtrack is guitar twangs and piano notes. There are very few supporting actors – it is essentially a two-hander. And the barren outback scenery looks stunning rather than gritty, and the scenes on Lake Eyre are amazing. The landscape is more a magic backdrop than a player here … it’s the world they’re leaving behind which has had the most impact.
This is a story about cycles. As we slowly learn more about what made Kev, the more we learn about Chook and what he may turn out to be. In one scene, when Kev reveals his great-grandmother was Aboriginal and there may have been some Afghan in the mix, Chook asks what that makes them. “We’re mongrels, us. So we can be what we want to be,” says Kev. Yet we learn, just like the country they traverse, their fate is determined as much by nature’s forces as any decisions they make.
Last Ride is a subtle experience. Little is obvious and there aren’t too many twists. While the ending has punch, it’s not the sort that will leave you gasping with shock or emotion. Yet it will leave you moved and knowing you have seen a quality Australian film.
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