True History of the Kelly Gang (2020) Review

rating: *****

the story: Mostly the sort of fictional history of Ned Kelly.

review: True History of the Kelly Gang is a bold piece of filmmaking. It doesn’t really matter if you think Ned Kelly was thug or hero, Australian rogue or patriot. This is the kind of movie that throws up all kinds of reasons why he ended up the way he did, but isn’t particularly concerned if you agree or even think it has conclusions to reach. It’s complicated. And that’s a good thing.

Obviously the big draw of 1917 was the illusion of a single cut, but George MacKay did a good job of helping keep things interesting. By the time he shows up as Ned, ripped to a lean core, he’s holding his own against a backdrop of better known talents including Charlie Hunnam and Nicholas Hoult. The star of the early movie is Russell Crowe, the nasty figure who spurs on a resentful young Ned, whose domineering mother and disgraced father set him on an uncertain path of immigrants reacting against a British establishment.

And the whole is a kaleidoscope of rough moments, poetic in their way, from the cheerful, profane tune Crowe sings about constables to the dresses the Kelly Gang dons just to throw off their opponents. This is no ordinary biopic. It isn’t as weird as you may have heard, either. But by the time Ned’s fate is discussed by ostentatious politicians you can see its grandeur well enough.

I’m not heavily versed in Kelly lore. I’ve seen the Heath Ledger version. That’s about as much as I knew before True History. Nothing’s sacred here. And that’s what makes it so interesting.

It’s the kind of filmmaking that can’t help but be memorable, in all the right ways.