© FAKESHEMP.NET
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Podcasts
    • Podcasts
    • Good Movie Monday
    • WTF was that?
  • MEDIA
    • Videos >
      • Photos
  • GLG
  • Blog
  • Interviews
  • About

THE LEGEND OF BEN HALL

18/1/2017

4 Comments

 
Picture
2016 | DIR. MATTHEW HOLMES | REVIEW BY GLENN COCHRANE.

Australia's history is fraught with characters whose exploits demand attention, and our country's post-colonisation trajectory has produced countless stories of heroism, infamy and crime (let alone the innumerable stories from before European settlement). Our story is rugged, and our landscape is uncompromising, and with a wild frontier that rivals America's wild west it is a blight on the Australian film industry for not exploiting the opportunities to their fullest.
Of course there is also a stigma that comes with attempting such a feat, and most of those who have tempted the task have failed. For every success story like THE PROPOSITION or THE MAN FROM SNOWY RIVER we get a handful of turkeys like QUIGLEY DOWN UNDER and MAD DOG MORGAN. It seems that our landscape, while suited perfectly for the classic “Western” is an untamed beast, charitable only to the tenacious few.

When you utter the term “bushranger” to anyone they will immediately think of Ned Kelly. He is iconic, and his story has become lore amongst Aussies, and yet our history showcases countless other outlaws, none of whom come close to the legend and notoriety that we've placed up ol' Ned. One of those characters was Ben Hall, the son of European settlers who abandoned a life of farming to become the Commonwealth's most wanted man.

THE LEGEND OF BEN HALL chronicles the final year of Hall's life while on the run with fellow bandits John Gilbert and John Dunn, and without the constraint of Aussie sacrosanct it presents an adventure that owes its form to the classic American “western” design. The big arid wide-shots and the gun toting choreography recall the films of old, where cowboys robbed stage-coaches and sheriffs hunted gun-slingers. And despite the harsh environments that these characters occupied, there's a necessary romanticism to their stories that makes for compelling entertainment.

The film began as a crowd-funded short and when the money raised far exceeded the goal, the film was expanded to become a feature. Director Matthew Holmes took ever dollar of the money raised and put it to use, and with the reassurance of new funding from various places he was able to deliver a smart, handsome and compelling western that sits comfortably amongst contemporaries such as THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES and THE SALVATION
Picture

​The cast are mostly unknowns lead by Jack Martin, whose credits consists of short films. He steps into Hall's boots and assumes the character with ease, offering a stern yet empathetic performance, and presenting a man whose criminal life bares a conscience. Martin is perfectly suited to the role and carries the film consummately. His supporting cast include Jamie Coffa and William Lee, both of whom also make their feature film debut. While Coffa's performance is uneven at times he brings a much needed jovial presence to the film - which helps keep the story textured – and Lee's turn as the 'rookie' outlaw brings a moral compass to the venture that keeps it on course.

Add brilliant cinematography, bang-for-buck production value and a well-measured score and you get an engaging true-story that offers an alternative narrative to the under-explored 'bushranger' genre. It avoids cliché while taking advantage of the 'western' tropes, and successfully makes an Australian story universal. Sadly, it is also a film that needs all the support it can get, because no matter how great it may be, it is still an in dependent film fighting for its place amongst the studio produce. See it on the big screen where possible, buy it on DVD when available and use your power of social media to promote the hell out of THE LEGEND OF BEN HALL, the first in a proposed trilogy of bushranger films.
   
Picture
4 Comments
Ross Angelo
18/1/2017 04:01:07 pm

Now that's a sound review.

Reply
Maureen Fragnito
18/1/2017 04:05:33 pm

Great write up-it's so deserving of much more exposure than it's got from Aussie film bodies in charge!!!Waiting for the DVD with excitement!!!

Reply
bathcat
26/4/2017 05:55:23 am

Well, it takes some nerve to compare "The legend of Ben Hall" to "Quigley down under" and call the latter a turkey.
Honestly, here we got dull script that does not explains any valid reason behind hero becoming a bushranger, performances of variable quality, long and poorly choreographed shootouts performed with fake guns (denix zincal colt revolvers, oh come on) and bad CGI - blood, muzzle fires etc.
Whereas "Quigley" is and always will be true classic with memorable heroes and villians, great pacing, action and production values. Just compare stories and quirks that make characters played by Selleck, Laura San Giacomo and Alan Rickman to generic "good thieves" and "bad policemen" from "Ben Hall". "Quigley down under" is just honest entertainment that does not have to pretend to be something else, like " Legend of Ben Hall" lamely does.

Reply
FakeShemp.Net link
30/4/2017 08:06:51 pm

Thanks for your feedback bathcat. We disagree with you. :)

Reply



Leave a Reply.


    OUR WRITERS
    GLENN COCHRANE
    JARRET GAHAN
    SHAUN CRAWFORD
    ALEX MAYNARD
    CHRIS THOMPSON​
    Picture

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    September 2010
    April 2010

    RSS Feed

© 2018 FakeShemp.Net    All rights reserved.  FakeShemp.Net Illustrations by MJ Barros. 
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Podcasts
    • Podcasts
    • Good Movie Monday
    • WTF was that?
  • MEDIA
    • Videos >
      • Photos
  • GLG
  • Blog
  • Interviews
  • About