Mystery Road

source: Mystery Road

I enjoyed this film as much as most of the other COMMENTERS herein. And like many of my fellow critics, I take issue with some of MYSTERY ROAD's untied plot issues. Maybe greater issue as I was disappointed at the movie's end. ADVISORY: Read no further if you're yet to watch as MYSTERY ROAD is indeed intriguing. This film is moody and interesting enough that it overcomes it's faults. But, and I'll be brutally specific: The attempt at depicting racial strife, injustice, etc., is ham-handed enough to approach gratuitousness. The "wild dog" subplot is by far the best storyline yet fades away. I''m guessing the druggies raised the mutts to protect their trade and killed the girls for canine feed. Finally -and almost irritating- is Johnno helping our hero by picking off bad guys and, if so, why? MYSTERY ROAD deserves far more than it's OK Corral ending. Whew, I'll sure take a lot of heat for this review!

Going by the reviews i thought this one would be a top notch thriller. To my surprise the movie is slow paced and makes you fall asleep .I literally slept twice in the first 50 minutes.The acting in the movie is what keep you going and asking for more. The direction could have been much better but the actors have done justice to whatever screen space they could get . The director confuses a very good plot with some unnecessary twists and turns which don't make sense at all. Over all the movie offers some amazing shots of Australia ,i wish i could say the same thing about the entire movie.Its definitely not in the A- league but can be a time killer as it was for me on a laid back Sunday!

Mystery Road can best be described as an Aboriginal noir western. Aaron Pedersen is Detective Jay Swan. A determined indigenous cop who never seems to give up despite the obstacles in his way which includes threats and racism. The detective wears a white cowboy hat but seems to use very little of his grey cells in the head as he investigates the murder of a young Aboriginal prostitute in the outback. This is a very slow burn thriller with some unresolved side plots and conspiracies. A lot of the story is confusing, even though I have seen the film twice. I really found this film to be tedious despite some nice photography such as the sunsets. Only the shoot out at the end perked things up.