The Square

source: The Square

An Australian made suspense movie thriller directed by a talented Nash Edgerton, which features as supporting actor, his equally talented brother Joel Edgerton who wrote the story. This is the Edgerton Brothers first full length feature film, after writing producing and directing many award winning short stories. The film quickly sets the tone of an unhappy marriage and an illicit love affair headed for trouble, where a middle aged man Ray(David Roberts), hooks up with a much younger mistress, Carla (Claire van der Boom), who is also in a failing relationship. After that, the plot has so many twists and turns it will keep you guessing right through to the unexpected surprise ending, of which Nash Edgerton is known for in his previous productions. The movie has plenty of action as the ill fated couple descend deeper and deeper into a depressing turmoil involving money, greed, death and revenge, where there seems to be no way out. All the elements and suspense are here to keep you glued to the screen. The cast work well together, and with the special effects and stunts, makes for a movie well worth checking out.

I saw this film at CineVegas in June of 2009. Some other film students I was with expected this film to be boring but I was intrigued by the plot of the film. And when we came out of the theater, I was speechless. This film was all I talked about for the rest of that summer. There was so much greatness in this film, especially the story. I dig these kinds of stories so I was very pleased. There was even a few twists in there that really got me. The other thing that stood out was the cinematography. Now it might not be the best but it was very realistic (alot of scenes are hand-held but not a bad thing). Another was the actors/actresses. David Roberts did a fantastic job. I've never seen him in another film except the last 2 Matrix films but in The Square he was great. Claire van der Boom was great as well. She's a beautiful actress and again I've never seen her in another film but would love to see more. I think her performance is almost academy award worthy IMO. These 2 worked well together creating the perfect mood for the film. The music was nice. It fit very well with the film especially the ending scene, it almost had me in tears. And lastly, the director Nash Edgerton. I've seen his short films and the are pretty good but for his debut full length film, this was a huge success. I admire his style and hope to see more great films by him in the near future. I wont spoil anything from the film but if you like thrillers then this is one you have to watch. I was hooked from the opening scene and by the end of the film I was jaw dropped and speechless. Great Australian film.

It is funny that the Edgerton brothers collaborated on this film since it reminds me a great deal of another movie crafted by two brothers. If you have ever seen Blood Simple, a Coen brothers production, this movie will remind you of it. Two lovers hatch a simple plot to steal money and run away together, but are thwarted by unforeseen circumstances, blackmail, misdirection and unforeseen deceit. The acting in this film is superb, starting with the leads and certainly Joel Edgerton who does a 180 from his character in Kinky Boots. I highly recommend this movie. Although the plot is familiar it does have a neat twist at the end that was hard to see coming.

The Square reminded me of Silent Partner, an old movie starring Elliott Gould, although it has the pace of Notes on a Scandal, and the ending isn't as satisfying. If you haven't seen Silent Partner, look it up; you'll love the fish tank scene. The Square is not as brooding as Sam Rami's A Simple Plan, and doesn't have the ability to laugh at itself like the Cohen Brothers' Fargo does, but it shares the same theme, a bag of money causing everything to go to hell. They could have played that whole thing about not being able to pour the concrete over the corpse for some laughs, but instead it was taken dead seriously. The Square starts off strong and kind of gets a little muddled in the middle but then it picks up again toward the end. The plot twists aren't really twist, they are just things that go wrong with the plan. Mostly this movie concentrates on one character instead of focusing on the interaction of the two conspirators. Some creepy background music might have added to the suspense as well. During the first half there are a few very impressive and subtle scares, which bring to mind another Cohen Brothers movie, Blood Simple. The acting is really good; the story just needs to lighten up a bit in order to let the great acting flourish. All in all this is a good movie. It kept me shaking my head wondering, what now. It will keep you guessing. The wisdom of this movie is "One man points his dick in the wrong direction, and here we are." Yes, here we are.

In a tradition that began with the French back in 1938, Nash and Joel Edgerton have written, produced, directed and edited a truly gritty film noir – replete with the requisite femme fatale – within a typical Australian setting, in around the outer suburbs of Sydney. While the story is fiction, there is nothing fake about the mise-en-scene, the culture of the Australian male, the everyday corruption in personal and business life and so on... Because it's all so ordinary. That's what makes it so interesting, evoking a comparison with the more famous Cohen brothers who have delighted us with Blood Simple (1984), Fargo (1996), No Country for Old Men (2007) and others – all of which showed us how ordinary, decent, criminal people get involved in nefarious activities which, ultimately, resulted in mayhem, chaos and death, for some. So, in a typical suburban setting, a couple (both married) are having a torrid affair, with the woman urging her lover to run away with her. When she finds a bag of money in the upper crawl space of her house, hidden by her husband, she steals it and convinces her lover to burn the house down, thus covering the loss of the money. Or, so they think... As always, though, the unexpected arrives: when the house burns, so also an old woman who was at the wrong place at the wrong time. And, from there on, the lives of those involved in the dirty business spiral completely out of control as, inevitably, one thing leads to another and the bodies begin to pile up. But, that's not all. Meshing with the lover's attempts to scarper with the money is a twisted sub-plot and mystery that totally muddy the main story and will leave most – maybe all – viewers uncertain about the expected outcome to the whole story. Oh, you intuitively know that, in film noir, there'll be dramatic irony; in this one, however, everybody does get what they deserve, but for the wrong reasons. Maybe that's what happens in real life, more often than not? As the lovers, David Roberts (as Raymond) and Claire van der Bloom (as Carla) are near perfect: he as the reluctant, uncertain cuckold, she as the relentless pragmatist doing whatever it takes. Against them, there is Anthony Hayes (as Greg) and Joel Edgerton (as Billy) but these two men know nothing of the other until the final shootout – a meeting to be savored for its terrific pacing, editing and irony. In the background, murkily adding to the mix, there is the always-riveting Bill Hunter (as the construction boss, Gil), Paul Caesar (as the very surprising Sgt. Miles), Kieran Darcy-Smith (as Barney) and Brendan Donoghue (as Leonard). This is a mature and superbly produced film by two brothers who, in my opinion, will just get better and better. Foreign viewers might have some difficulty with strong Aussie accents from some characters – but no worse than some accents from some other countries. Do persevere with The Square, however: you won't be disappointed. My only real quibble is that a quote in the advertising material compares this one to Body Heat (1981). That's a stretch, I think: the two stories are quite different in substance, style and outcome. So, if you've seen that great film noir from Lawrence Kasdan, don't be mislead going in to see The Square. As to the actual square, well, there's no doubt that Raymond is a pretty dull sort of bloke who fumbles and bumbles his way into trouble fairly easily. But, he's also in construction and he's trying to get a large square of concrete poured to hide one of his biggest mistakes - buried there - before somebody finds out (I'm reminded of William H. Macy's bumbling Jerry in Fargo). Unhappily for Raymond, somebody does find out... Highly recommended.

This was such a gem of a film and I'm so glad I found it. It had everything! Without feeling like it had too much! 'The Square' is the sole reason I now go to the movies more often. Because I know that I will need to see at least 1,000 films again before I can find one of this quality and depth. If you love movies that don't pull punches (ie. the departed, fight club, the hurt locker, no country for old men, or precious) YOU WILL LOVE THIS MOVIE!. and you won't hear me say that about any other film in 2010. This movie is absolutely guaranteed to have audiences cheering in the seats!!

With cheap Christmas stuff coiled around most of it's Aussie edges, "The Square" was suspenseful and fun to watch. The stupidity of the main characters, like most film noir, set-up a nasty sequence of events that become complicated by twisted motives and coincidental plot developments. Our main character, Ray Yale, is as pathetic as his mistress, Carla Smith, is desperate, and we know that they're both going to suffer some heavy consequences for their selfishness. Still, we hardly imagine that so much is going to go so brilliantly wrong. The director, Nash Edgerton, must have enjoyed playing with all the production values of "The Square" as much as his brother, Joel, enjoyed writing the story upon which the screenplay evolved. I mean, really, can anyone think of a better name for a contemporary interpreter of the genre than a chap named Nash Edgerton? Not only did we get the usual dark images and sweaty brows, but Edgerton was also able to provide a shaggy dog and a baby, too! "The Square" is a film that should entertain most people who enjoy the film noir genre.

This movie is a superb Australian drama. It has been very well scripted ,acted & directed with skill by Nash Edgerton. Joel Edgerton's story is a simple premise which has a familiarity to it that could have easily failed as it has in lesser movies but he adds enough plot twists & side plots to keep it interesting until the non-predictable ending. This film does not have the recognition it deserves. I remember seeing him interviewed prior to the film's release saying he was excited to be working with his brother Nash. Together they have formed a creative partnership & produced a movie easily as good as 'Lantana' & superior to the massively overrated 'Australia'.

The fact that I lasted all the way through is quite exceptional for an Australian film - so it is good enough to watch and a good first time effort. I was surprised by the quality of the acting but felt it hard to sit through as its not quite an enjoyable experience - the cinematography was dark, muddled and grainy with unlikable characters and you have a sense of what is going to happen in the end so its really no surprise when it does happen. But the film does have the element of surprise of pulling u into this triller and you really want to keep watching to see what unfolds. It would however benefited with a happy ending to counter the depressiveness of the film.... or even a few funny moments. With a depressing film and depressing ending you think why did i watch this? I thought bud tingwell in the end was also very good!!