TWO HANDS
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Capsule: Pandemonium erupts when an amateur
criminal on an errand for a local hood loses
$10,000. The film certainly has its funny moments
and if this was the first film of its type, this
clever and inventive film could have been a real
standout. Unfortunately LOCK, STOCK, AND TWO
SMOKING BARRELS came out first and there is
insufficient reason to see both. There are just
too many similar films being made. Rating: 6 (0 to
10), +1 (-4 to +4)
Things are starting to go right in Jimmy's world. Until now Jimmy (played by Heath Ledger) has been a street hawker for a second rate Sydney strip club. But Jimmy has fallen in love with Alex (Rose Byrne), a woman he has seen outside the club. And a local gangster Pando (Bryan Brown) offers a small job as courier to Jimmy. What Jimmy does not know is that Pando killed Jimmy's brother. Now Pando wants to make things up to Jimmy and offers him a job that could lead to bigger things if Jimmy does not screw up this first job. Of course we would not have much of a story if something did not go wrong. In a careless moment Jimmy loses $10,000. Now Jimmy needs $10,000 to square things with Pando and a few of his friends want to see Jimmy dead. Before the film PULP FICTION was made this all could have been a fairly serious matter. But now we expect crime films to have really strange dialog and really weird interconnected plots with very strange twists and odd characters.
Heath Ledger is a good actor and carries his part well. Bryan Brown is particularly enjoyable as a vicious hood by profession but also a caring and loving family man at home. There are occasional astonishing touches like the Narrator from Hell.
This is not a bad little film. One of the people in a Cairns audience said it was the best Australian film he had seen in a long time. I can believe it. The real problem is the timing. TWO HANDS is just one more creative, violent, semi- comedic crime film made in the wake of PULP FICTION. Its pacing and its plotting remind one a lot of LOCK, STOCK, AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS. And in the comparison it is nearly but not quite as good. My recommendation for Showtime Australia is put this film in a vault for five years and release it again when it will again be fresh and a discovery. I rate it a 6 on the 0 to 10 scale and a +1 on the -4 to +4 scale.
Mark R. Leeper
mleeper@lucent.com
Copyright 1999 Mark R. Leeper
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