Cert 18 Stars 3
Having been given the runaround in the Oscar winning First World War drama, 1917, Brit actor George MacKay now follows in the footsteps of rockstar Mick Jagger and the late great Heath Ledger playing the Australian outlaw with the tinpot helmet, Ned Kelly.
It’s a demented performance driving the transgressive, trippy tone of this intriguing but exhausting blood soaked western, and shows how Kelly became a bank robbing killer.
Based on Peter Carey’s award winning novel and exploring the gap between the legend and the real life historical figure, it creates a hellish folk horror nightmare littered with layers of lies, delusion and poetic license which constitute Ozzie history, and strips away the macho self-image and myths of modern Australia to their raw and rapacious roots.
As oppressive British officers, Nicholas Hoult is wonderfully louche alongside the increasingly impressive Charlie Hunnam, who sports his native north-east accent. Meanwhile Russell Crowe gives a magnificent bawdy performance worthy of his former Gladiator co-star, Oliver Reed.
Chris Hunneysett 