Kiss or Kill
Director: Bill Bennett.
Starring: Frances O'Connor(II), Matt Day, Chris Haywood, Barry
Langrishe, Andrew S. Gilbert, Barry Otto, Max Cullen.
Any movie that opens with a Dylan Thomas quote has my interest. Plus
it's Australian so that gives it bonus points in my book, or at the
very least, predisposes me to liking it. Plus, it's a different sort
of Australian: much as I liked Strictly Ballroom,
Muriel's Wedding and Love Serenade, I'd had my fill
of quirky Australian comedies. So is Kiss or Kill
a good movie? A resounding yes, with a few reservations.
The opening scene is horrific. I thought "what are we in for?" Even
better, we get to see this scene again before the movie is over. But
this scene was not typical of the movie as a whole. While the movie
has its gruesome bits, it's actually not that bad and has some
gut-wrenchingly funny stuff.
The story is of Nikki (Ms. Frances O'Connor) and Al (Mr. Matt Day), a
couple of small-time crims, who have been looking out for each other
for years, who may or may not have committed one or
more murders. Part of the interest in this movie comes because Nikki
suspects Al and Al suspects Nikki and we, the audience, are not sure
exactly what's going on.
As well as the basic plot, there are a range of "colourful, Australian
characters." In this movie, however, they're not as stereotyped as
usual, or perhaps they're portrayed with just a pinch of tongue in
cheek. We have the Aussie outback motel owner, the dry, laconic
Aussie cop and the Aussie outback loner. Each of these stereotypes
has a twist. The motel owner turns out to be a bit of a believer, the
cop is funny as all hell and the loner is married. All fine
performances.
Zipper Doyle (Mr. Barry Langrishe) was
less satisfying for me. It was not the actor's performance but the
character which was lacking something, perhaps more than one
dimension. The other less than satisfying note in the movie was the
ending which seemed slightly out of place with the rest of the movie
(not the final scene but rather what happened to our major characters
and what happened to Zipper: just a bit too pat). These were only
minor annoyances in an otherwise superb movie.
Also in its favour was spectacular South Australian/West Australian
scenery filmed so starkly. This included great use of an ex-nuclear
testing area. Worth waiting for were the final credits; a use of
sound that I've often wondered why it hasn't been used before. I
found the jump cuts quite intriguing, although people I was with found
them annoying.
Overall, Kiss or Kill is a very good movie, managing to keep
me interested and a bit intrigued throughout. Hopefully this movie
will do well overseas, putting paid to the notion that all Australia
produces are quirky comedies.
Rating: CR
© Nikki Lesley 1997