The Crop (Scott Patterson, 2004) wr. George Elliot; George Elliot, Holly Brisley, Rhys Muldoon; nightclub owner in early 1980s ends up at odds with marijuana when his clientele choose to smoke in his carpark rather than buy his booze; Australian release 19 August 2004; brief review: Oscar Hillerstrom, Empire, 42, September 2004: 26
The writer of this rambling rubbish unfortunately had himself cast in the lead, despite not being an actor. Andrew Urban has written a very kind review, part of which follows. I can't remember reading another notice—obviously desperately trying to find something good to say—which claimed that the producer had 'hired a good crew'. It is true that Elliot's performance is 'not half bad'—it is all bad.
Richard Kuipers is more straightforward:
A comic thriller with only the barest modicum of laughs and no suspense, it's sad to say that this looks dead on arrival on local screens. Richard Kuipers, Urban Cinefile.
George Elliot, the writer of the script and driver of the project, is a self made man who raised the money for his film privately, and while he hasn't been able to afford major stars, he had the good sense to hire some darned good crew to make a film that has as much commercial prospect as any other Australian film of late. His performance as Blade is not half bad either, a muted characterisation that works by its understatement. The script, while never pushing the envelope of originality, has some effectively humorous lines of dialogue, and the structure is accessibly recognisable. Andrew Urban, Urban Cinefile.
Garry Gillard | New: 22 March, 2013 | Now: 1 March, 2020