This quite well-made film fails somewhat because the main character, Nick Cutler, played by Alan Dukes, is too arrogant and dysfunctional to feel sorry for as his life spins out of control.
Though the film is well made, and acted, the main character spends most of the movie doing awful, selfish things which hurt others and get him into further trouble. Most of the times these things are not really funny, but just awful. It's a morality tale of sorts, but there's not enough to make us care about Nick, and to hope he gets it together. He's a bit of an arsehole and deserves what he gets.
There are also some other problems. Why does he hang out in a strip bar, in such a small town? Why not a normal bar? Is he turned on by the pole dancers, or is the strip bar included to excite the audience. This common device bugs me. Why does the young teacher sleep with him after a couple of drinks? This is not really believable, but a continuation of the movie fantasy that older guys can get pretty young women.
That said, I liked many of the performances, and the Blue Mountains setting was well-filmed. I wanted to like it, and the ending made up a little for the pain we went through but it was too abrupt and not well enough explained.
Though the film is well made, and acted, the main character spends most of the movie doing awful, selfish things which hurt others and get him into further trouble. Most of the times these things are not really funny, but just awful. It's a morality tale of sorts, but there's not enough to make us care about Nick, and to hope he gets it together. He's a bit of an arsehole and deserves what he gets.
There are also some other problems. Why does he hang out in a strip bar, in such a small town? Why not a normal bar? Is he turned on by the pole dancers, or is the strip bar included to excite the audience. This common device bugs me. Why does the young teacher sleep with him after a couple of drinks? This is not really believable, but a continuation of the movie fantasy that older guys can get pretty young women.
That said, I liked many of the performances, and the Blue Mountains setting was well-filmed. I wanted to like it, and the ending made up a little for the pain we went through but it was too abrupt and not well enough explained.
