Review of The Square (2008) by Nathan M — 17 May 2011

This recent movie from Australia shows that the spirit of film noir never dies - it's as alive in contemporary Australia as it was in 1940s Hollywood. The Square is a lot like a Coen brothers film, particularly Blood Simple; it's not quite as good as Blood Simple, but even to be mentioned in the same sentence is quite an honor. Interestingly, like Blood Simple, this movie was also the first film from a pair of brothers.

The story, which is reminiscent of Blood Simple and Double Indemnity, revolves around two people having an affair with each other who think they can get away with stealing the woman's husband's money and running off together. Ha. You can imagine that things don't go as planned. David Roberts gives a low-key, convincing performance as Ray; he's apparently the only man in town without unspeakably bad facial hair, so no wonder the woman has an affair with him. Clair van der Boom is good as the woman in the affair, who doesn't realize what a mess things are really becoming.

The movie refuses to sensationalize. There's only one or two sex scenes between the two lead characters, and they are not eroticized at all. The violence is quick, realistic, and final. While this approach serves the film well for the most part and makes it feel quite realistic, it does lead to a somewhat underwhelming climax. Blood Simple kept things buttoned down for the most part, then splurged for a dramatic and nerve-wracking ending; The Square is reserved almost to a fault at points. Still, though, the movie delivers some quite surprising twists, and I appreciated the cynicism and black irony of the conclusion. If, like me, you enjoy watching people trying to scheme their way into something and then being ruthlessly punished by fate for their hubris, then you'll like The Square.