List, The (2008)

Australia / 25 minutes / color / Hopscotch, Blue-Tongue, Australian Film Commission Dir & Scr: Joel Edgerton Pr: Nicole O’Donohue, Rachel Okine Cine: Luke Doolan Cast: Anthony Hayes, Justine Clarke, Kieran Darcy-Smith, Justin Rosniak, Paul Pantano, Elliott Weston, Nicole da Silva, Malechai Pantano, Michael Isgro, Nash Edgerton.

The term “neonoir” is often taken to refer solely to movies with tortuous plots and non-linear plotlines. By contrast, the tale that The List tells is a very simple one, yet there can be little doubt as to this beautifully executed short’s status.

Dale Maclean (Hayes) has been away for years. He’s back in town at the request of criminal Nick (Darcy-Smith). A local hood called Paul Subiaco (Paul Pantano) has commissioned a hit on their mutual friend Vincent; Vincent’s not dead, but it’s unlikely he’ll ever walk again. Nick—or, at least, Nick’s nameless boss (Weston)—wants Dale, the stranger in town, to take Subiaco out.

Dale (Anthony Hayes, left) being briefed by Nick (Kieran Darcy-Smith).

While acting as getaway driver for inept crook Gaff (Rosniak), Dale encounters his high school lover Amy Sinclair (Clarke), now the married and heavily pregnant Amy Samuels. The meeting kindles old memories. He goes to

Noirhouse (2013)

Australia / 18 minutes (total) / bw / Sky Machine Dir: Shaun Wilson Pr: Nathan Spencer, Shaun Wilson Scr: Tim Logan Cine: Simon Gray Cast: Nathan Spencer, Melanie Irons, Mick Davies, Sarah Wadsley, Matt Burton, Robert Manion, Rose Kokkoris, Mick Lowenstein.

An entertaining three-episode miniseries of comedy noir shorts published online as streaming videos.

“She’s dead!”

Three misfits share a house: a hardboiled ex-cop PI (Spencer), complete with the omnipresent hat and coat, a beautiful femme fatale, Nadia (Irons), and a hulking Russian (Davies), who may or may not be a communist. For reasons not stated, The Detective wants to kick Nadia out of the house, so, to her great disdain, he and The Russian start interviewing prospective candidates in a sequence reminiscent of its equivalent in SINGLE WHITE FEMALE (1992). One of the candidates, the young woman Alice (Wadsley), insists on

Red Hill (2010)

Australia / 98 minutes / color / Arclight, Hughes House, Wildheart, Wolf Creek, McMahon, Screen Australia Dir & Scr: Patrick Hughes Pr: Patrick Hughes, Al Clark Cine: Tim Hudson Cast: Ryan Kwanten, Steve Bisley, Tom E. Lewis, Claire van der Boom, Christopher Davis, Kevin Harrington, Richard Sutherland, Cliff Ellen, John Brumpton, Ken Radley, Jim Daly, Dom Phelan, Eddie Baroo, Jada Alberts, Tim Hughes, Ken Connley, Richard Young.

Convicted murderer Dural “Jimmy” Conway (Lewis) escapes from the Western Bay Maximum Security Prison and, intent on revenge, immediately heads for Red Hill, the remote small town where he lived and was arrested. Starting his first day at the Red Hill PD is Constable Shane Cooper (Kwanten), transferred from the big city on doctor’s advice because wife Alice (van der Boom) lost their first child and is now heavily pregnant once more. As soon as news reaches the town of Jimmy’s escape, the Red Hill PD, headed by Old Bill Butler (Bisley), readies itself for a murderous siege.

Tom E. Lewis, as the vengeful Jimmy Conway, dominates the screen in all his scenes.

Soon enough Jimmy arrives and, wordless (except for the movie’s final seconds), impassive and implacable, his face a mass of burn scars, he starts