Review of These Final Hours (2014) by Thomas R — 01 Aug 2014

A surprisingly strong mainstream writing and directing debut from Zac Hilditch.

The film begins very dark and hard-hitting from the first minute. It conveyed a sense of hopelessness and desperation that made me slightly uncomfortable and panicky. We know from the the first scene that there will be no 'struggles to overcome adversity', because the end of the world is truly nigh. No one is going to overcome anything and live happily ever after with the fruits of their struggles. Nothing matters, right? So then, what happens when there is literally no hope for anything? Its a good question that is often poorly asked and poorly answered in 'ultimate disaster' films. This film is one of the exceptions. And interestingly, this important narrative is told from the point of view of a hedonistic Aussie bogan in the outer suburbs of Perth.

It turns out that, according to the director/writer, when 'nothing matters', humans are mostly ugly, basic beasts with Freudian instincts that they grapple with via sardonic hedonism, self destruction, violence, sex and obliteration of consciousness. However, innocence, kindness and comfort still matter to a few and we are shown how said kindness, without any tangible reward, is valuable in this scenario.

It's a little clumsy in terms of editing and dialogue - sometimes a line comes up that made me cringe (e.g. "Life is stronger than death, James".... ick), however, the power of this film comes when no one is talking. When someone holds someones hand. When a little girl - who knows she is hours away from dying with the rest of humanity - skips with joy when told she can swim in her clothes (even though she forgot her bathers haha).

It's quite beautifully shot. Everything feels sun-scorched, industrial and dirty - as though humans have left an ugly mark on the planet and deserve the cleansing to come. And then suddenly, we see glimpses of beauty in things that would normally be banal and mundane.

This guy's brief journey of getting some humanity back is plausible and touching. The film came very close, several times, to being excessively heavy handed and corny with the juxtaposition of the child's innocence against the backdrop of blood, sex and depravity - but the decision to keep her silent most of the time worked well. It allowed this talented young actress to use non-verbal means of reminding us what matters most when there is no tomorrow.

Deep down, I wonder if there is a subtle political commentary about Australian culture. Particularly the post white australia policy culture - maybe there's an allegory somewhere there about the world closing in on Australia forcing it to change its ways or something... Not sure. Save that for a year 12 English class or Aus Politics blog.

Its probably a true 3 1/2 stars - several scenes were poorly edited and dragged on pacing-wise, but my bias results in a solid 4 star and praise for its quality as a low budget debut. And hey, they made the suburbs of Perth highly entertaining and gripping, that deserves merit.