LAST CONFESSION OF ALEXANDER PEARCE, THE

For those of you abroad Alexander Pearce was a notorious convict on Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) during the 1820s. His story has become legend in Australia due to the nature of his crimes. During two escapes he ate his fellow prisoners... during his first escape it was a means of survival but on his second escape it was purely out of compulsion as he was captured with plenty of bread and cheese in his pockets. And so in 2008 an ABC/BBC production was made telling his story. The Last Confession Of Alexander Pearce is a 60 minute film which is told in a series of flashbacks as Pearce confesses his sins to a Catholic priest. There is no doubt that the story is compelling but this film tells is very poorly. The flash back scenes which make up the bulk of the film look like they were shot with a cheap mini-DV camera. The hospitable landscape seems to be ignored entirely with camera angles and shots preferring to focus on the characters themselves. Cut to one year later and another film was released telling the exact same story. It was called Van Diemen's Land and it was a masterpiece. One of the best films of the year without question. Its strength was in its cinematography. It treated the landscape as a central character and gave a deeper insight into what would drive men to cannibalism. It's a far superior film which I would recommend seeing instead of The Last Confession Of Alexander Pearce.

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