The Cronulla riots of 2005 displayed a despicably awful strain of violent racism in Australia. It is a prevalent yet still a touchy subject, the new black comedy film Down Under goes into it head first.
Set the day following the infamous Cronulla riots, the film follows two angry opposing groups. The first, a group of paranoid local Cronulla Anglos, and the other a group of embittered Lebanese men, both of which are out for each other's blood.
Written/directed by Abe Forsythe, Down Under is actually awful. While Forsythe is thematically focused, his execution is confused, juggling poor satirical comedy and unfocused drama. In comedy, he tries particularly hard with lots of lowbrow humour and stereotypes, both hardly funny. In drama he is more successful (particularly his dark climax) but is terribly undercut by the uneven tone. Moreover, it is terribly aimless, repetitious (slow-mo driving, ironic radio songs), cliched and a slog, feeling double its runtime.
The performances are dedicated, but undone by the messy material. The characters are base level, underdeveloped and the majority of them are instantly repugnant or become so as events unfold, making it difficult to care what happens. The only performance worth noting is Chris Brunton, who despite having Down Syndrome, is the best of the lot. Down Under, despite important themes, is turgid viewing.
