Cactus (2008)
Professional first time writer/ director Jasmine Yuen-Carrucan does a good job with this Australian film. It’s a suspense/ thriller which is well made with plenty of shots of outback Australia.
A make shift kidnapper (Travis McMahon) is in desperate need of money for his little girl & in these hopeless times he resorts to delivering a talkative conman (David Lyons) to a group of thugs for a small fortune. He travels thousands of kilometres across the country & the two of them build quite a bond & camaraderie towards each other.
Bryan Brown plays the local cop & as you would expect knows everyone from Broken Hill to Alice Springs. He is a likeable character with plenty of charm & an evil side to boot. The versatile Shane Jacobson plays the country truckie & finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The film can be a little slow going, but I did enjoy the characters who really brought this movie alive. The scenes from the soaring outback & the smooth story line were quite enjoyable. If you’re a revhead you’ll enjoy the reference in the movie to the old Australian rivalry of Ford v Holden. Not a bad effort for a low budget Australian flick!
Article written by Liam Gibbs
Tags: australian flick , Bryan Brown , Cactus (2008) , cactus the movie , David Lyons , Film , film review , Jasmine Yuen-Carrucan , Shane Jacobson , Travis McMahon , Two Flat Whites