“True History of the Kelly Gang” Film Review
By: Joseph Perry (Twitter)
The notorious bushranger Ned Kelly is a controversial historical figure in Australia, and his final stand against the law in which he wore a makeshift suit of armor is legendary. Viewers won’t find a historically accurate depiction of Kelly’s life in True History of the Kelly Gang — the movie starts with a disclaimer stating that “Nothing you are about to see is true” — but what they will find is a frenetic, colorful, violent, often jaw-dropping revisionist history tale with a punk-rock aesthetic that is masterfully directed, beautifully shot, and wonderfully acted.
Part acid western (such as Sam Peckinpah’s 1973 Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid), part gonzo crime/western hybrid (such as Alex Cox’s 1987 Straight to Hell) and the latest in a long line of Ned Kelly films (such as Tony Richardson’s 1970 Ned Kelly, which starred Mick Jagger in the title role), True History of the Kelly Gang starts off with Ned as a young child (Orlando Schwerdt) and jumps right into his volatile relationship with his mother Ellen (Essie Davis of The Babadook [2014] in a terrific performance of a Lady Macbeth-like character). After Ellen sells him to outlaw Harry Power (an initially hard-to-recognize Russell Crowe seemingly having a blast playing a villain), young Ned gets himself into trouble and we catch up with him as a young man (George MacKay in a brilliant, fearless performance) who returns home and is not given a hero’s welcome, to say the least.
Ned has had his fill of discrimination, hardship, and trouble from the law, so he eventually forms a band of outlaws who wear dresses to freak out the squares and scare their victims into thinking the criminals are crazy. After Ellen is jailed, Ned devises a plan to ambush a train full of lawmen and spring her from prison.
Director Justin Kurzel (Macbeth [2015] and Assassin's Creed [2016]) gives the film an energy that builds slowly in the first act but absolutely pops, crackles, sizzles, and explodes thereafter. His techniques are superb, resulting in a visually dazzling film full of bravado and verve that also offers occasional subtle flourishes. Ari Wegner’s (Lady Macbeth [2016] and In Fabric [2018]) cinematography is stunning, with Nick Fenton turning in top-notch editing work. The screenplay by Shaun Grant, based on the Peter Carey novel of the same name as this film, is filled with crackerjack dialogue, delivered beautifully by the cast members. The international cast features several of the finest actors from Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere. Besides those players already mentioned, other standout performers include Thomasin McKenzie (Jojo Rabbit [2019] and Leave No Trace [2018]) as Ned’s lover Mary Hearn, Nicholas Hoult (Hank McCoy/Beast in the recent X-Men films, as well as Nux in Mad Max: Fury Road [2015]) as the smarmy, manipulative Constable Fitzpatrick, and Charlie Hunnam (Crimson Peak [2015] and Pacific Rim [2013]) as young Ned’s nemesis Sgt. O’Neil.
True History of the Kelly Gang requires no prior historical knowledge of Ned Kelly and the other characters because this film, as I mentioned earlier, eschews sticking to facts in favor of taking the legend behind Kelly and raising questions, such as furthering the controversy as to whether he was a Robin Hood-like figure or a mere murderous outlaw. It does so in a feverish, turbulent, often violent manner. Highly recommended, True History of the Kelly Gang, from IFC Films, is now available on digital platforms and cable VOD.
Joseph Perry is one of the hosts of When It Was Cool’s exclusive Uphill Both Ways podcast (whenitwascool.com/up-hill-both-ways-podcast/) and Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror: The Classic Era podcast (decadesofhorror.com/category/classicera/). He also writes for the film websites Diabolique Magazine (diaboliquemagazine.com), Gruesome Magazine (gruesomemagazine.com), The Scariest Things (scariesthings.com), Ghastly Grinning (ghastlygrinning.com), and Horror Fuel (horrorfuel.com), and film magazines Phantom of the Movies’ VideoScope (videoscopemag.com) and Drive-In Asylum (etsy.com/shop/GroovyDoom).
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