WEST
Director: Daniel Klige Stars: Khan Chittenden, Nathan Phillips, Gillian Alexy, Michael Dorman, Anthony hayes, Tim McCunn, David Field
Reviewed by GREG KING
Australian film makers seem drawn towards gritty, realistic and downright depressing tales of marginalised characters living on the fringes and mean streets of the inner suburbs of our largest cities – films like Romper Stomper, The Boys, Em 4 Jay, Tom White, Three Dollars, Suburban Mayhem and Candy, etc. While some have been popular with audiences, many of these low budget films have proven to be too grim to really connect with audiences.
The latest film in this milieu is West, the debut feature from writer/director Daniel Klige, who wrote the first draft of the script 20 years ago when he was 16. Although he has refined it over time, Klige has not really updated the characters or the dialogue to make it seem more contemporary or authentic.
West tells the story of Peter (Khan Chittenden) and Jerry (Nathan Phillips, from Wolf Creek, etc), two cousins and best friends who have grown up in Sydney’s economically and socially depressed inner western suburbs. The pair has basically drifted through life, spending their time in pursuit of sex, drugs and beer. But when Jerry decides to change his lifestyle and get a job at a fast food restaurant, the cracks begin to show in their easy-going relationship.
Pete becomes mixed up in some sleazy drug deals, and is even beaten up by a vicious dealer (Anthony Hayes). And then there is Cheryl (Gillian Alexy), who both boys lust after. She drives another wedge into their relationship. Pete is involved in a brutal murder, and then events spiral dramatically out of control, leading to a devastating climax.
The central performances from the two leads are impressive. Rising young star Chittenden (who can also be seen in Clubland and tv’s Dangerous) makes his rather dimwitted and naïve Pete sympathetic, while Phillips delivers one of his stronger performances.
However, despite being something of a cautionary tale warning about the slacker lifestyle it depicts, West is a very grim, unrelentingly downbeat film. It is hard to see what audience Klige is actually aiming for, as its confronting and unpleasant nature may be too off putting for many in the audience. It’s unlikely that modern audiences will readily identify with these pathetic losers or respond positively to this bleak, downbeat vision of inner city life in modern Australia.
**