THE FINAL WINTER
Directors: Brian Andrews, Jane Forrest Stars: Matt Nable, Nathaniel Dean, John Jarratt, Matt Jones, Raelee Hill, Michelle Langstone
Reviewed by GREG KING
The brainchild of newcomer Matt Nable and first time directors Brian Andrews and Jane Forrest, The Final Winter is something of a nostalgic look back at rugby league in the early ‘80’s. This was a time before big money from corporate sponsorship entered the game and lucrative contracts put paid to team loyalty. And it was also a time when thuggery was an integral and accepted part of the game.
Set against the background of the Newtown Jets, a Sydney rugby league club, the story centres on tough “Grub” Henderson (Nable), a dinosaur in a sport that is quickly changing directions and moving into a bold new future. The action takes place over the course of one decisive week, which will prove to be Grub’s last in a game he loves. But a crude, late tackle on his estranged brother Trent (Nathaniel Dean) costs the team a berth in the finals, and sees Grub front the judiciary. He faces an uncertain future. For so long rugby has been his life, and he has put the sport ahead of his family and personal life. Over the course of one week he has to re-evaluate his priorities and imagine life outside the sport.
Younger brother Trent is a showpony, but he is also a talented player and represents the future of the sport. Trent has also just been convinced to join Grub’s club by the team’s soulless CEO and businessman (John Jarratt), who recognises that the game needs to change its image if it is to attract larger crowds and corporate money and grow. The film never really explores the reasons for the very palpable tension between the two brothers, as the flashback sequences concentrate solely on the young Grub and his relationship with his volatile father.
Characterisation is slim, and audiences do not develop any empathy for its unattractive central character. Nable himself has an imposing presence, while Dean delivers a wonderful performance. Jarratt is an interesting, and maybe ironic, choice to play the new CEO, as he first came to prominence playing a promising young Australian Rules footballer in The Great McCarthy. More recently he chilled audiences with his convincing portrayal of a psycho serial killer in Wolf Creek. But here he gives a surprisingly timid performance. The performances from the rest of the cast, which includes former rugby player Matt Johns as the coach, are workmanlike.
The Final Winter had potential to be an interesting look at this brutal sport and one passionate player’s obsession – rather like an Australian version of Lindsay Anderson’s bleak and brutal 1963 drama This Sporting Life. But ultimately the film fumbles the ball, and an opportunity to say something about the Australian male and his obsession with sport and notions of masculinity is lost. The Final Winter is something of a disappointment, and will mainly appeal to lovers of the sport of rugby itself.
*1/2
Reviewed by PETER MALONE
After Footy Legends, another film about Rugby League. Once again, it is not necessary to know the finer points of the game (or any of the less finer points), though, for those who do, the connection with actual Sydney teams and the changes since the 1980s where money has become more important than the sport will make some impact.
The action takes place over a week and charts the professional crisis (accompanied by a crisis at home) for professional player Grub (played by Matthew Nable who wrote the screenplay). Receiving a reprimand for striking in the Saturday match, he has to face the greedy wheeler-dealer owner, a tribunal, his younger brother and his being poached for another team. He also has to face the fact that he is getting older, that the game has changed. He also has to face the fact that he is like many Australian men, loving his wife and children but hesitant in expressing it, alienating his children and exasperating his wife. It is not an unfamiliar story but in its Australian straightforwardness and grittiness it works well as a local drama.
Performances are strong and John Jarratt appears as the club owner.
There is a lot of nostalgia in the screenplay for a time when the game was a game, rough and tumble yes, but a game and a code. While a modest film in scope and scale, it holds the interest.