Red Hill (film)
Encyclopedia
Red Hill is a 2010 Australian thriller film written and directed by Patrick Hughes. The film stars Ryan Kwanten
, Steve Bisley
and Tom E. Lewis
.
), a young police officer, relocates to the small town of Red Hill with his pregnant wife Alice (Claire van der Boom
) to start a family. On his first day on the job, he is instantly shown hostility from Old Bill (Steve Bisley
), the head of the police force, for being unable to find his gun and getting shot on duty when he couldn't bring himself to fire his weapon on an armed boy.
During Shane's first assignment, the police learn that Jimmy Conway (Tom E. Lewis
), a convicted murderer who was arrested by Old Bill for killing his wife, has escaped from prison. Knowing that Jimmy will return to town to seek revenge, Old Bill orders his officers and a group of civilians to arm themselves and shoot Jimmy on sight.
Old Bill's men prove to be no match for Jimmy, who effortlessly kills the officers and armed civilians he comes across. When the convict encounters Shane, however, he lets him live. When Shane finds Old Bill and his surviving officers, he confronts Bill over the fact that Jimmy spared his life and learns that Bill has refused to call for back-up from a nearby-town. Shane draws his gun at Bill, but again finds himself unable to fire it and is subsequently knocked out and handcuffed to a table.
Shane escapes and uses an emergency radio to contact the nearby police. He then learns from a farmer than Jimmy Conway is in fact innocent of the murder of his wife. The true murderer is Old Bill and his men, who set fire to Jimmy's house after killing his wife and framed him afterwards. The farmer informs Shane that he has a written document of what really happened, before committing suicide. Now knowing the real reason why Jimmy returned to Red Hill, Shane returns home to get his gun, which Alice found while he was on duty.
Near the outskirts of town, Old Bill sets stacks of hay on fire to attract Jimmy's attention. Jimmy arrives and kills Bill's last remaining officers, but is stopped from finishing Bill off when two of Bill's friends arrive and hold him at gunpoint. Shane also arrives and saves Jimmy by shooting Bill's friends after informing Bill that he knows the truth.
The police back-up arrives and surrounds Jimmy as he prepares to get his revenge on Old Bill. Despite Shane's efforts to get him to drop his gun, Jimmy kills Old Bill and is promptly shot by the police. Before dying, the seemingly mute Jimmy tells Shane that his wife was also pregnant.
was raised privately. The film was shot over a period of four weeks in Omeo, Victoria
. After the film was shot, an edit was put together and the film was shopped around to find a distributor and funds to finish the film. The film received completion funds from Screen Australia
and Arclight Films.
on 14 February 2010 in the Panorama section. It was released in the United States on 5 November 2010 and in Australia on 25 November.
, based on 62 reviews. David Stratton
of At the Movies gave the film four out of five stars and said "The plot isn't exactly original … but after a deliberately slow start the film gradually builds the suspense and eventually explodes into very well-staged action." Jeanette Catsoulis of The New York Times
gave the film a positive review, saying "Red Hill wears its clichés proudly and its violence with panache. Patrick Hughes directs and edits his own story with fanatical focus, while Tim Hudson's photography coaxes foreboding from every rust-brown shadow and desiccated blade of grass." Sandra Hall of The Sydney Morning Herald
gave the film three out of five stars, saying "Rodriguez
has made stuff like this work by demonstrating a healthy sense of self-parody. Hughes has yet to master that. You can also see his climactic plot twist looming from a great distance and these shortcomings add up to a portentousness jarringly at odds with the film's modest intentions."
Ryan Kwanten
Ryan Christian Kwanten is an Australian actor. He played Vinnie Patterson from 1997 to 2002 on the Australian soap-opera Home and Away...
, Steve Bisley
Steve Bisley
Steve Bisley is an Australian film and television actor, who attended the National Institute of Dramatic Art .-Acting career:...
and Tom E. Lewis
Tom E. Lewis
Tom E. Lewis is a Murrungun man , who is an actor and musician. His first major role was the title role in the 1978 Fred Schepisi film The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith.-Early life:He was born and grew up at Ngukurr in South Eastern Arnhem Land...
.
Plot
Shane Cooper (Ryan KwantenRyan Kwanten
Ryan Christian Kwanten is an Australian actor. He played Vinnie Patterson from 1997 to 2002 on the Australian soap-opera Home and Away...
), a young police officer, relocates to the small town of Red Hill with his pregnant wife Alice (Claire van der Boom
Claire van der Boom
Claire van der Boom is a Logie Award winning Australian film and television actress of Dutch ancestry. Internationally, she is best known for her appearance as Stella in the third episode of the HBO miniseries The Pacific, and her recurring role playing the ex-wife of Det...
) to start a family. On his first day on the job, he is instantly shown hostility from Old Bill (Steve Bisley
Steve Bisley
Steve Bisley is an Australian film and television actor, who attended the National Institute of Dramatic Art .-Acting career:...
), the head of the police force, for being unable to find his gun and getting shot on duty when he couldn't bring himself to fire his weapon on an armed boy.
During Shane's first assignment, the police learn that Jimmy Conway (Tom E. Lewis
Tom E. Lewis
Tom E. Lewis is a Murrungun man , who is an actor and musician. His first major role was the title role in the 1978 Fred Schepisi film The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith.-Early life:He was born and grew up at Ngukurr in South Eastern Arnhem Land...
), a convicted murderer who was arrested by Old Bill for killing his wife, has escaped from prison. Knowing that Jimmy will return to town to seek revenge, Old Bill orders his officers and a group of civilians to arm themselves and shoot Jimmy on sight.
Old Bill's men prove to be no match for Jimmy, who effortlessly kills the officers and armed civilians he comes across. When the convict encounters Shane, however, he lets him live. When Shane finds Old Bill and his surviving officers, he confronts Bill over the fact that Jimmy spared his life and learns that Bill has refused to call for back-up from a nearby-town. Shane draws his gun at Bill, but again finds himself unable to fire it and is subsequently knocked out and handcuffed to a table.
Shane escapes and uses an emergency radio to contact the nearby police. He then learns from a farmer than Jimmy Conway is in fact innocent of the murder of his wife. The true murderer is Old Bill and his men, who set fire to Jimmy's house after killing his wife and framed him afterwards. The farmer informs Shane that he has a written document of what really happened, before committing suicide. Now knowing the real reason why Jimmy returned to Red Hill, Shane returns home to get his gun, which Alice found while he was on duty.
Near the outskirts of town, Old Bill sets stacks of hay on fire to attract Jimmy's attention. Jimmy arrives and kills Bill's last remaining officers, but is stopped from finishing Bill off when two of Bill's friends arrive and hold him at gunpoint. Shane also arrives and saves Jimmy by shooting Bill's friends after informing Bill that he knows the truth.
The police back-up arrives and surrounds Jimmy as he prepares to get his revenge on Old Bill. Despite Shane's efforts to get him to drop his gun, Jimmy kills Old Bill and is promptly shot by the police. Before dying, the seemingly mute Jimmy tells Shane that his wife was also pregnant.
Cast
- Ryan KwantenRyan KwantenRyan Christian Kwanten is an Australian actor. He played Vinnie Patterson from 1997 to 2002 on the Australian soap-opera Home and Away...
as Shane Cooper - Steve BisleySteve BisleySteve Bisley is an Australian film and television actor, who attended the National Institute of Dramatic Art .-Acting career:...
as Old Bill - Tom E. LewisTom E. LewisTom E. Lewis is a Murrungun man , who is an actor and musician. His first major role was the title role in the 1978 Fred Schepisi film The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith.-Early life:He was born and grew up at Ngukurr in South Eastern Arnhem Land...
as Jimmy Conway - Claire van der BoomClaire van der BoomClaire van der Boom is a Logie Award winning Australian film and television actress of Dutch ancestry. Internationally, she is best known for her appearance as Stella in the third episode of the HBO miniseries The Pacific, and her recurring role playing the ex-wife of Det...
as Alice Cooper - Christopher Davis as Slim
- Kevin Harrington as Barlow
- Richard Sutherland as Manning
- Ken Radley as Earl
- John BrumptonJohn BrumptonJohn Brumpton is an Australian actor who has appeared in a large number of local productions.-Writing career:He co-wrote the feature film Life and he won the International Critics Prize at the Toronto International Film Festival.-Theatre:...
as Rex - Cliff EllenCliff EllenCliff Ellen is an Australian actor who played a prominent guest role on soap opera Neighbours as Charlie Cassidy. His first role was in Homicide. His credits include Crackerjack, Garbo, and Phar Lap...
as Gleason - Jim Daly as Ted
- Dom Phelan as Ken
- Eddie Baroo as Willy
- Tim Hughes as Micky Carlin
- Ken Connley as Joseph Carlin
- Richard E. Young as Dale
- Jada Alberts as Ellin Conway
Production
Finance for principal photographyPrincipal photography
thumb|300px|Film production on location in [[Newark, New Jersey]].Principal photography is the phase of film production in which the movie is filmed, with actors on set and cameras rolling, as distinct from pre-production and post-production....
was raised privately. The film was shot over a period of four weeks in Omeo, Victoria
Omeo, Victoria
Omeo is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Great Alpine Road, east of Mount Hotham, in the Shire of East Gippsland. At the 2006 census, Omeo had a population of 452. The name is derived from the Aboriginal word for 'mountains' or 'hills'...
. After the film was shot, an edit was put together and the film was shopped around to find a distributor and funds to finish the film. The film received completion funds from Screen Australia
Screen Australia
Screen Australia is the Federal Government’s key funding body for the Australian screen production industry. Its functions are to support and promote the development of a highly creative, innovative and commercially sustainable industry....
and Arclight Films.
Release
Red Hill premiered at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival60th Berlin International Film Festival
The 60th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from February 11 to February 21, 2010, with Werner Herzog as President of the Jury. The opening film of the festival was Chinese director Wang Quan'an's romantic drama Apart Together, in competition, while the closing film is Japanese...
on 14 February 2010 in the Panorama section. It was released in the United States on 5 November 2010 and in Australia on 25 November.
Reception
The film generally received positive reviews. It holds a 77% approval rating on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, based on 62 reviews. David Stratton
David Stratton
David James Stratton is an English- Australian film critic and television personality.-Life and career:Born in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England in 1939, Stratton was sent to Hampshire to see out the war years with his grandmother, an avid filmgoer, where he was taken to the local cinemas regularly...
of At the Movies gave the film four out of five stars and said "The plot isn't exactly original … but after a deliberately slow start the film gradually builds the suspense and eventually explodes into very well-staged action." Jeanette Catsoulis of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
gave the film a positive review, saying "Red Hill wears its clichés proudly and its violence with panache. Patrick Hughes directs and edits his own story with fanatical focus, while Tim Hudson's photography coaxes foreboding from every rust-brown shadow and desiccated blade of grass." Sandra Hall of The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
gave the film three out of five stars, saying "Rodriguez
Robert Rodriguez
Robert Anthony Rodríguez is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer, editor and musician. He shoots and produces many of his films in his native Texas and Mexico. He has directed such films as Desperado, From Dusk till Dawn, The Faculty, Spy Kids, Sin City, Planet...
has made stuff like this work by demonstrating a healthy sense of self-parody. Hughes has yet to master that. You can also see his climactic plot twist looming from a great distance and these shortcomings add up to a portentousness jarringly at odds with the film's modest intentions."