Review of Mystery Road (2013) by Sgt. C — 09 Mar 2015

(56%).

An outback set modern day western crime detective movie that leaves me split, maybe not in half, but split nevertheless. First of all the good things: it's brilliantly shot with stunning location work and unfussy, yet finely detailed cinematography. The performances are subdued, but perfectly solid, and this is truly something you can really get your teeth into as it sucks you into its world of dust, heat, and murk. But sadly there are some key issues here. The creeping pacing from the very moment this opens with the camera lingering on the Mystery road sign just a little too long is just way too limp for the very simple story this has to tell. it just never feels like it's getting anywhere half as quickly as it could which is evident in its running time of just over 1 hour 50, as this by all rights is a 90 minute movie. This also suffers from its sheer ordinary style of storytelling with very little in terms of surprises, no real shocks, and everything is a little too much like the direction: smooth and bold, but never anything more. Overall worth a look for those interested, but I very much doubt I'll ever want to watch it again.