Brimstone

#StokerScore 8/10

Strewth, Sheila....

You may not recognise the street in the picture to the right but that little piece of suburbia is prolific when it comes to producing superstars, stars of the stage and big screen and even singing legends . This, is Ramsay Street, Melbourne

Home to the Aussie tv show Neighbours, this 6 days a week soap opera gave rise to Kylie Minogue, Alan Dale and Jason Donovan to name but three. But it also produced Guy Pearce. 

"better than doing Home and Away, right?"

Out of all of the actors who got their start on Neighbours, Pearce is without doubt the most diverse when it comes to his choice of roles. He was the lead in the backward Memento, he was the cowardly-cannibal-turned-avenger in the gloriously over-the-top Ravenous, he was the heroic saver-of-daughters in the space romp Lockout too. He's so flexible an actor that he's done period (Count of Monte Cristo) he's done big budget superhero movie (Iron Man 3) he's done small indie (The Rover) and is just so damn watchable that he's been cast in military movies, kids' movies and comedies. So when I saw the chance to watch Brimstone, well colour me watching-it-now.

did I really make this twoddle?

The premise of the movie is that it is four interconnected chapters linking the central characters of Guy Pearce and Dakota Fanning with the first three chapters told in reverse order in terms of timeline.  We're introduced to a wild west that is tough on those who lived in that period. Where religion is the only salvation for hard work and poverty and where people eke out a living as best they can.

I can't really tell you too much about the characters without giving too much away, suffice to say that the movie keeps you guessing, right to the final chapter where most of your questions are answered. I say most, all that is except an incident that happens to Pearce's character in the second chapter. Maybe the director left it up to the audience to decide but there are no other explanatory events to help with other predictions and it is only this that for me spoiled a really good movie. 

"who do you prefer, Liam Cunningham or Guy Pearce?"

Supporting cast is a bit hit and miss, especially Jon Snow....er, I mean Kit Harrington who just doesn't really fit his particular character. That he happens to appear alongside GoT co-star Carice van Houten maybe has as much to do with their schedules as it does with the casting director. Either way, that's the reason for the second mark missing.

Dakota Fanning's character is believable, Pearce's, once you understand his background, is too. If you like retributive westerns I think you'll enjoy this, I certainly did.....