Review of The Square (2008) by James S — 30 May 2011

A decent enough thriller which makes up for what it lacks in depth with some nice plot twists.

It's the kind of script that you imagine finds it's way on to the Coen brothers desk on a weekly basis. A real estate developer seeks to get away with his mistress after she finds a bag load of cash her husband has stashed. Complications naturally begin to occur when a spot of friendly, paid for arson goes a bit wrong and debts need to be collected and secrets need to be kept.

The Australian cast are not recognisable but good enough. A lot of the blokes seem to have the same kind of beard and look a bit like Toady from Neighbours which leads to a bit of confusion from time to time but the central guy is good as the man who's simple plan is rapidly falling apart.

The script pulls many turns and twists along the way, and the film is directed with a tense edge which guarantees that the audience will keep watching. There's a nice who's doing it style storyline running through out the movie which is the most engaging part of the film and is a great keep you guessing element.

The Square lets itself down with it's characterisation unfortunately. The film's protagonists are all quite one dimensional and have little depth which means the film sometimes falters and feels a little bit half baked. By the end of the movie, it's the twists which are leaving the impression, while you're hard pushed to remember who everybody was and how they fitted in. The men in the film especially are almost interchangeable.

The Square is nice little thriller, a gritty edge lending it that aforementioned Coen feel. It's no Fargo or No Country For Old Men but it's pretty good.