Rose Tauke
18-April-2008
MCC231 Australian Cinema
Dr. Garry Gillard
Assignment 2
Genre Drama
Run Time 108 minutes
Rated MA 15+
Country Australia
Crew
Writer/Director- Mathew Saville
Producer- Trevor Blainey
Executive producer- Bryce Menzies
Sound designer- Emma Bortignon-
Music Composer- Bryony Marks
Cinematography- Laszlo Baranyai
Film Editing- Geoff Hitchins
Costume Design- Kitty Stuckey
Makeup- Jose Luis Perez
Cast
Brendan Cowell- Constable Graham McGahan
Maia Thomas- Lavinia Smart
Henry Nixon- Craig Finlay
Nicholas Bell- Snr. Det. Noel Birchall
Luke Elliot- Dean Stouritis
Simon Laherty- “Lucky” Phill Heydon
Release Dates
Australia May 3, 2007
Germany 12 February 2007 (European Film Market)
USA 26 April 2007 (Newport Beach Film Festival)
10 June 2007 (Seattle International Film Festival)
Czech Republic 29 June 2007 (Karlovy Vary Film Festival)
New Zealand 26 July 2007 (Auckland International Film Festival)
Spain 6 October 2007 (Stiges International Festival of Fantastic and Horror Cinema)
Greece 21 November 2007 (Thessaloniki International Film Festival)
Canada 5 April 2008 (Pacific Cinematheque Pacifique)
DVD Information
Release Date: 10/10/2007
Languages: English
Number of Discs: 2
Format: DVD. Region 4
Aspect Ratio: 16:9 Widescreen Full Height Anamorphic
Catalogue: MMA2237
For more DVD info:
http://www.madman.com.au/actions/catalogue.do?releaseId=8756&method=view
Awards
Australian Film Institute
Best Sound
Emma Bortignon
Doron Kipen
Phillippe Decrausaz
Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards
Best Actor- Brendan Cowell
Best Cinematography- Laszlo Baranyai
Best Director- Mathew Saville
Best Editing- Geoff Hitchins
Best Music Score- Bryony Marks
Best Film of 2007 *beat the two major AFI award winning films Romulus, My Father and The Home Song Stories
Inside Film Awards
Best Editing- Geoff Hitchins
Best Sound- Emma Bortignon
Doron Kipen
Phillippe Decrausaz
Links to Reviews
http://www.smh.com.au/news/film-reviews/noise/2007/05/04/1177788366499.html
Reviewer Paul Brynes of the Sydney Morning Herald
“A serious, fresh, surprising film by a writer-director with plenty on his mind”
http://www.theblurb.com.au/Issue77/Noise.htm
Reviewer John Bale of The Blurb
“Powerful imaginative police psycho drama”
http://www.theage.com.au/news/film-reviews/noise/2007/05/03/1177788291724.html
Reviewer Jake Wilson of The Age.com
“Director Matthew Saville demonstrates considerable reserves of dry wit”
http://www.applebox.com.au/blog/2007/11/movie-review-noise-2007/
Interviews
http://www2b.abc.net.au/tmb/Client/Message.aspx?b=19&m=6817&dm=2
“It stood out from all the other Australian films this year because of its very strong storyline, because it was very well directed indeed, the performance by Brendan Cowell, and it went against the grain of what is regarded as a typical Australian film."(2007)
Interview with Australian Film Critics Association (AFCA) Peter Krausz on why it picked up best film of the year.
http://www.infilm.com.au/features/makingnoise.htm
“Making Noise”(2007)
Interview with writer/director Matt Saville and star Brendan Cowell.
http://www.urbancinefile.com.au/home/view.asp?a=13036&s=interviews
As for the tinnitus that plagues Graham, Saville got that from real life, too. He suffered from it himself for a while. “I’d have episodes of feeling isolated, angry, frustrated (just like Graham) … the one place you can’t leave is your own head. But it’s also a great life lesson,” he adds. “You have to learn how to listen through it, not to try and fight it.”(2007)
Interview with writer director Matt Saville
Online Presence http://www.noisethefilm.com/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0809931/
The film Noise has an official website with news and press section, synopsis, stills, trailer, cast and crew and updates. While it was convenient for getting the basic facts on this film there was little information beyond that. The Internet Movie Database provided more in depth information and was very informative. Because this is an independent film there is not a large online presence. An online search came up with only a select number of reviews and interviews
Part Two
Plot Synopsis
The film Noise takes place in an Australian suburb of Melbourne called Sunshine. The film opens with a young women walking through a train terminal. She enters a dingy looking train car and takes a seat with out taking note of her surroundings. Several seconds later a man who appeared to be resting his head against the window slumps forward. She gets up too have a look at him and notices he is dead, having been shot. Glancing around the train she realizes all of the passengers on that train car have been slain. The next scene is of ordinary Constable Graham McGahan, an officer patrolling the train station. Soon the viewer learns that Constable Graham McGahan suffers from tinnitus. A condition that causes a persistent ringing in the ears. A body of a missing girl is found but it is unclear if it’s related to the first massacre on the train. Due to Mcgahan’s condition he is stuck working in a caravan and dealing with a community going through a tragedy. The plot begins to branch off into two stories now. Originally the viewer perceives this film to be a cop drama. More then anything it is a story about an ordinary man dealing with life.
Personal Commentary/Review
I thought this was an excellent film. When the film began I thought it was going to be a crime film but was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be more of a character study on Constable Graham McGahan. The parallel stories are introduced well. For example, there is a scene when the witness of the massacre becomes hysterical at the idea of the killer knowing her identity. The next shot is of McGahan getting his hearing checked. Another great scene that really puts emphasis on how brilliant the sound in this film and also the parallel of the two stories is when McGahan is playing with a remote control car. The noise of the toy quickly begins to escalate then there is a cut to a weed whacker and the discovery of the dead girl. My favorite scene in the film that puts so much emphasis on how maddening tinnitus can be is when the ringing begins and he turns on all of the appliances in his house trying to drown out this noise. Television, the blender, water faucet, the radio, but still that incessant ringing can be heard over. The combined sound of all the objects together was well orchestrated. I found it interesting also to realize how ordinary McGahan really was and how he appeared to have no real interest in being a police officer at all but was just trying to find his way. This film does a great job at portraying different relationships with people but they all seem to connect in to end. There is a film called Babel directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu which also has similar themes.
Critical Uptake
This film was very highly regarded among critics everywhere. It did not have a huge presence in the United States but did quiet well in Australia. I did not come across any bad reviews for the film Noise. The only negative comment about this film was a commentary by a police man who argued that police men do not act in the way McGahan did. Many blogs talked about how relatable his character was.
Other Works of Mathew Saville
Mathew Saville
Noise is writer and directors Mathew Saville’s first feature film. Previous to this film he has done work on television shows such as:
“East of Everything”
“The Surgeon”
“We Can Be Heroes”
“The Secret Life of Us”
“Hamish & Andy”
“Big Bite”
For more info:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1234242/
Why is this Australian?
This film does a nice job of eluding one specific genre of Australian film. While there were many aspect of a crime film that really was not what it was about. Many things make this film Australian. It was all filmed in Melbourne, written and directed by and Australian and all of the actors in the film were Australian. Where the caravan is placed in the dingy suburb of Sunshine seems to accurately depict a poor part of a large Australian city. The people that McGahan comes into contact with accurately portray people living near poverty in Australia. Also this film was thoroughly enjoyable and there were no giant Hollywood special affects. I do not think a film like this could have the success that it did in the United States.
Sources
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0809931/
http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s1900374.htm
http://thecia.com.au/reviews/n/noise.shtml