This 1998 Australian movie is a masterclass on psycho-thrillers. All the other movies I have watched of this genre seem to have taken an inspiration from this brilliant film. Taking place almost entirely in a police station, the story follows Edward Fleming, a suspect in a stolen car case and his interrogation by Detectivea Sergeant John Steele & Detective Prior. It makes you question your own instincts and takes you on a "he did it"- "he didnt do it" goosechase.
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At 5 AM on a fine morning, Edward Fleming is whisked away by the police on charges of vehicle theft. Edward is disturbed and scared by the sudden arrest and questions why he has been arrested multiple times. The police does not answer him straight away and instead, they beat him up, ransack his house for documents, cuff link him and take him away for questioning.
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Once they are in the interrogation room, Edward is denied food and is questioned about an Andrew Beecroft and his stolen car. Despite Edward's repeated denial of ever knowing Beecroft, the detectives threaten him and abuse him. Based on a handwriting match on a vehicle transfer document and a few witnesses corroborating seeing someone like Edward around the crime scene area, detective Steele is sure Edward is involved in the theft. You are convinced they are forcing an innocent man to confess so that the case is closed.
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At some point in the interrogation, Edward reveals that he has been reading news on Beecroft and the others who went missing under similar circumstances. He even goes on to guess that he is not here about a stolen car but that the police is trying to pin him for Beecroft's murder. He demands for a solicitor who advises him not to comment on any further questions.
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Turns out, there are 5 other similar open cases and, the victims are all suspected to be murdered by a serial killer. That Edward knows this accurately, convinces Steele that he is playing a game, which if kept up with would lead to a confession. Steele persuades his boss, Detective Jackson for more time with Edward. Jackson advises the detective to not act out on his usual ways as there have been prior complaints on Steele's and Prior's method of questioning.
Half-way through the movie you see Edward's demeanor instantly change from that of a scared, weak person to a confident man (This is where Hugo Weaving's sheer brilliance as an actor shines through!). As Steele asks Edward to elaborate on what he knows or has been following on news about the open cases, Fleming admits he does not believe the murders had any motive and promises to reveal more only if he is given something to eat.
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In front of full plates of food, Fleming starts talking about how he hitch-hiked a ride with Beecroft and after a stop for fuel, slyly directed him towards an abandoned place where they drank to their heart's content and then killed Beecroft in a drunken haze where he saw ghosts of those he had murdered before. He insists that the murder had no motive and done on a whim. Edward goes on to draw a diagram indicating where he buried Beecroft. He commits to provide details of the other murders too but he doesn't remember much about where he buried his victims.
Edward agrees to confess everything on video. As he is questioned again by Detective Steele for the video, you see Fleming getting uneasy and you know he is going to deny his own story. Before he begins to respond, Detective Jackson walks in and enquires Fleming on how the interviews were going on and if he needed anything. At this point, Fleming back-pedals his story and insists he only concocted the story about Beecroft and the others just so that the detectives gave him some food and stopped abusing him. As a viewer, you are mighty challenged here. Because you have seen how poor Edward was treated from the get-go, you want to believe that he is innocent. But you also saw how convincing it was when he admitted to all those crimes a few minutes ago.
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Also, it comes to light that Detectives Steele and Prior have been videotaped the entire time by an ethics committee that determines that their questioning method was unethical based on all the threats and abuses directed towards Edward and hence, the interrogation tapes cannot be considered as admissible in court.
Near the end, Steele watches Jackson escort Edward on his way out. Edward has what appears to be a you-blink-and-you-miss-it smirk on his face. As he walks out of the station, you see this smirk spread into a wide shady grin like he won the game! In the end scene, you see Fleming on the road hitch-hiking. It's up to you to interpret whether this was the scene where Edward got into Beecroft's car or of the scene where he is waiting for his next victim.
I do not have another word for all the actors in this film, except Brilliant! Hugo Weaving's innocent act in the beginning turning into a devilish serial killer mode and then back to a scared Edward is definitely class acting. Tony Martin is almost there with him as a devious Detective who will get his hands dirty and does not stop at anything until he nails his suspects. If you enjoy psycho-thrillers, this movie just hands its genius to you on a plate. I admit I have never watched The Matrix trilogy but reading that Hugo is in all the three movies with eye-candy Keanu Reeves and that the trilogy just dropped on Netflix, you know where I am gonna be all next week! (Hey don't judge me ok? I don't like sci-fi movies!)
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(PS: If anybody thought this was a review of Dave Franco and Seth Rogen's 2014 movie of the same name, I don't do the Franco's and cheap comedies. IMHO, they are extremely annoying and over-rated, and their brand of comedy is almost always misogynistic. So I avoid their movies as much as I can, thank you!)
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