Australian film Noise (2007) primarily focuses on the lives of Brendan Cowell's Graham McGahan, an inner west Melbournian Constable dealing with the effects of tinnitus, and Maia Thomas' Lavinia Smart, the sole survivor of a murderous "rampage" on a train in which seven people are killed.
After requesting light duties to help deal with his tinnitus, McGahan is placed on night shift in an information van in the inner west suburb of Sunshine. There, he encounters several members of different parts of the community: Lucky Phil, a mentally handicapped man, Dean Stouritis, the fiance of a murdered woman in Sunshine, and Craig Finlay, a profane racist.
At the same time, the film explores how Smart deals with the aftermath of her traumatic experience, including one fantastically presented scene towards the end when she is followed by one of the men she identifies in a police line up.
Everything about this film is amazing, and I cannot understand why I have not heard of this film before stumbling across the bargain bin.
Before viewing Noise, I had only seen Cowell as panellist on footy programs, so I didn't have the highest expectation of him as an actor (sorry); I had no idea what to expect. Now, I am actively going to seek out more films with him in it, he's brilliant. I felt myself believing McGahan's character, and the scene with Katie Wall's Caitlin Robinson forced me to think how I would react in a similar situation, which made made me love the performance even more.
Thomas plays the role of a terrified and traumatised Smart brilliantly. Smart is stricken by fear after witnessing what she did on the train, and that is only exacerbated when the investigating officers seem not to believe her recount of events.
I mentioned it earlier but the whole interaction between Smart and the man she identified in the police lineup is so well done. It begins simply as her walking down the road alone in the dark, before a car creepily slows down to her pace and follows not far behind. He eventually gets out of the car an tries to intimidate Smart, who is a heap on the ground. Instead she explodes into life, angrily confronting him and communicating the fear in which she now lives.
It's a breathtaking scene that has stuck with me since watching it last week.
Noise is an under-rated, under-watch and under-appreciated Australian drama that should be thrust into the spotlight. It's a well-crafted and smartly constructed film, featuring performances that are as real it gets.
There is a reason why Noise won the Best Film, Best Director for Matthew Saville, Best Actor for Brendan Cowell, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, and Best Music Score Awards and was nominated for Best Screenplay by the Australian Film Critics Association, and the only way to truly find out is by taking 110 minutes out of your time.
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