The first of our ANZAC weekend movies, Bad Blood, is a kiwi movie with an Aussie lead actor and a Brit Director, now how much more ANZAC can you get than that? The movie is based around a factual account of happenings in 1941 Koiterangi, Howard Willis's Manhunt: The Story of Stanley Graham. To a large extent script writer Andrew Brown remains faithful to the source book and Director Mike Newell doesn't make a judgement in regards any of the characters. Bad Blood is a tragedy, and before anyone says that the locals should have seen it coming more recent events would belay that assumption, that captures a small town incident in all it's gory details. The movie makes this site due to the rural paranoia prevelant in it, they are out to get us, that is a continued theme in horror up to the present day.
Talk us through itIn 1941 the isolated farming community of Koiterangi on New Zealand's West Coast is on a war footing. The locals have formed a militia to repel apparent German invaders, high powered rifles are being collected, and the women's auxiliary are preparing care packages for the troops overseas. The Graham family, Stan, Dot, and their two children, take no part in any of this but do practice their marksmanship after dark on moonlit nights because that's when the Germans will come according to Stan.The Grahams have problems of their own. A rising level of debt has lead to credit being cut off at the local grocery store, the milk company is rejecting their produce, and the bank is looking to foreclose. Stan and Dot are starting to get paranoid. When their milk cows start to get sick Dot is blaming a family of local immigrants for poisoning them, and Stan is pretty close to using his rifle. When local copper Ted Best arrives to collect Stan's .303, Stan claims "some joker stole it". Ted warns that he will have to come back with a court order. Things go downhill steadily for the Grahams with further milk rejections and a package that left Hokitika not arriving in Koiterangi. Dot is convinced everyone is out to get them and Stan is developing a closer relationship to his firearms. When Ted Best shows up with a court order Stan claims his gun "turned up" but someone had tried to file off the serial numbers. That someone was of course Stan. Dot simply heads into Christchurch, now that's got to be some trip, and gets Stan a new high powered rifle much to Ted Best's dismay. One thing leads to another and pretty soon Stan is on the run having gunned down three policemen and seriously wounding Ted Best. The largest manhunt in the history of New Zealand is launched as Stan starts to become a folk hero to those chaffing under the current Government.
Review"My Dad shoot all the cops." - John Graham.Director Mike Newell begins his movie with an absolutely striking prologue piece that nails the isolation of the community of Koiterangi. He starts with a static front on angle of a wedding photo on a mantelpiece, the shot is ordinary but in the later context of the movie becomes devastating. Newell next cuts to the surrounding mountains, plains, and highlights just how sparsely populated the region is. He finally cuts back to the photo highlighting that here lies the course of the Graham's "heart of darkness". Would Stan have gone on his murder spree if Dot didn't have a mob of roos bounding around her own top paddock? One of the unanswered questions the movie poises is to what extent is Dot responsible for subsequent events as she is clearly not giving Stan a moment to himself, witness the radio scene. Dot is completely unhinged, how is Stan going to retain his own sanity in the face of the isolation and Dot's increasing levels of paranoia. The other early theme Newell hits out with in his movie is the gun culture prevalent amongst the farmers and in particular the Grahams. A local militia are practicing five round bursts at targets, Stan and Dot conduct there own midnight target practice, rifles are close to hand at all times and seem an integral part of life for the menfolk of Koiterangi. At no time does anyone use a rifle for what you would imagine would be it's legitimate use on a farm in New Zealand. Stan does go deer hunting but doesn't fire with a group of deer in his sights, he seems to be more intent on the hunt than putting meat on the table. As an aside I was left with the impression that this scene had been lifted complete and inserted into Mel Gibson's Braveheart. Back to Bad Blood, even the kids are playing with guns made out of wood, notably Stan puts a quick end to his son John playing with a couple of local lads, another indication of the isolation and inward outlook of the Graham family. Director Newell is miserly with his screen time in the first half of the movie, no one scene is wasted on a single idea. The grocery scene, for example, highlights the Graham's credit issues while also pointing out war rationing is underway, Dot cannot get tinned pineapple or sultanas. Having established his themes; isolation, paranoia, and a ready access to firearms, Newell starts to turn on the screw on Stan. Paranoia mounts, not the least of which is caused by the panicing Dot, and Stan is increasingly talking about "them" who want to take his land. In one poignant scene Dot is shown as longing to join a local dance but is unable to escape her own self imposed mental confines. The Graham household is in perpetual darkness while the life's of their neighbours are shown to be apparently filled with light. In terms of bringing the historic period to life the Producers of Bad Blood are all over the movie. The vehicles, costumes, and props all look authentic to the early 1940s. Director Newell shots in subdued colours, mainly greys and blacks, making it seem like it's always raining in Koiterangi or that the rain can't be that far away. In one scene, naturally in the pub, Newell is ticking off his colonial requirements, a farmer is reading from a letter clearly received his Son fighting in Greece. At the end of a missive about mateship and being taught to look out for himself the farmer remarks that it was strange to receive the letter after the telegram from the War Ministry. For a brief second it looks like we may get some emotion going down, some male bounding perhaps, but Newell shies aware from it to highlight the largely unemotional male outlook of the time in New Zealand. These blokes may have known each other all their lives but there will be none of that girly touchy feely stuff going down here. Newell is nailing the period social structures of the Shakey Isles to a tee, and has an almost uncanny ability to show the passionless kiwi. Bad Blood after a strong first half, thanks to the outstanding script by Andrew Brown, does lose a little pace in the second half. Once Stan has gone postal and headed bush the movie sort of meanders along towards a preordained conclusion. We have the notion that Stan is becoming a folk hero in some circles, and perhaps the whole major manhunt is due to this, but the idea is voiced by minor characters and never receives the prominence that it did in Ned Kelly. I'm not saying that Stan Graham has the same iconic status in New Zealand that Ned Kelly does in Australia, but I am saying that Newell sort of loses his way with the concept and simply leaves it floating. There's a sort of inevitable resolution to Bad Blood and the Director does nothing to add to that or to take a different viewpoint to the history books. We are left watching almost a dramatic re-enactment rather than a movie that had promised quite a lot in the tucker box. Newell's one moment of absolute brilliance with the final half of the movie is the cathartic nature of the burning down of the Graham farmhouse, the locals needed their own closure and they get it on a night of flame and music. Jack Thompson (Stan Graham) is amazingly well cast as the slightly stand offish character who becomes increasingly paranoid and desperate as the financial realities hit home. Thompson makes the role his own and delivers perhaps the best performance of his career. Carol Burns (Dorothy "Dot" Graham) however does steal a couple of scenes from Thompson and simply nails the wife with a few roos bounding around in the top paddock. "It's their fault!". Burns is a revelation and I will certainly be catching anything else with her in it that I can get my hands on. Denis Lill (Ted Best), though slightly out classed here, is doing sterling service as the local cop who really brings across the notion he has to live with these people end of day. Richard Hartley handed in the score for Bad Blood and you really have to wonder what it was with pan pipes back in the early 1980s. Okay it's working in the context of the movie, I was reminded of the score from Picnic to Hanging Rock to be honest, and Hartley does match Newell's visuals pretty faultlessly, but those bloody pipes were certainly overused back then. End of day the score has a slight "heard it before" feeling too it but gets the job done.
Summary ExecutionBad Blood is one of those quiet movies with a few things to say that doesn't receive as much exposure as it deserves. Director Mike Newell presents a period tragedy that is almost faultless in the first half but is sort of overlong in the second stanza. As a study of small town paranoia Newell, his crew, and his cast pretty much have all bases covered and throw on an engrossing movie experience. I was kept entertained throughout but did note the pacing in the second half that I seem to be harping on about. Overall an excellent movie experience for your's truly.The movie is a kiwi production that surprisingly features an Aussie in the lead. I was unable to found another movie where that is the case. It was certainly an excellent casting decision and may not have happened if the Director wasn't also a foreigner. Not surprisingly a lot of Australians are unaware of the Stanley Graham story and the movie isn't widely known in this country. Ironically a recent kiwi movie also covering a rural shooting spree, Out of the Blue, is also virtualy unknown in Oz. Perhaps we can get a few more people to check out both movies as they are excellent studies in their own rights. Full recommendation on Bad Blood, one of the better psycho movies doing the rounds as it's bloody believable. No offense to Hannibal Lector fans, but come on, really? Do yourself a favour, book a ticket to the local dance in Koiterangi and see what may develop. You might be lucky enough to get a bonfire to finish the night.
ScaryMinds Rates this movie as ... Worth checking out, heck add it to your collection.
|
