Evengyny Thanks for the memories!

Listonixio Fresh and Exciting

Spidersecu Don't Believe the Hype

Dorathen Better Late Then Never

fung0 If you watch The Hard Word expecting yet another heist/caper flick in the vein of The Bank Job, you're going to be frustrated. At first, the film feels like it's all setup, with no payoff. Then you realize: this IS the film. It's not about some sort of grandiose criminal scheme. It's about these *people,* and their very individual outlook on life. And on that basis, it's really quite brilliant.The three brothers each have their own peculiar point of view. There's the tough guy (Pearce), the oddball (who strikes up an out-of-the-blue love affair with his prison counselor), and the soulful butcher (who gleefully slaughters pigs, but wouldn't hurt a fly). Then there's Frank: the criminal jerk who just can't seen anything but the next big score, and thinks he can manipulate everyone. And, right in the middle, Rachel Griffiths' character -- a somewhat unwilling and perhaps incompetent femme fatale.There's plenty of action in the film, including a climactic heist, but these events are surprisingly low-key. The movie isn't about who gets away with how much. It's just as much about blood sausage, and unusual uses for a lava lamp, and sticking things in a cow, and a dyslexic hit-man... a whole string of strange events that might have been enough for several movies.I found myself puzzled by the film at first, then swept along by its endless stream of remarkable occurrences. And, in the end, I became absolutely enchanted by the three incorrigible brothers, and their optimistic motto: "Nobody gets hurt." The ending, when it arrived, was exactly what I was by then hoping it would be. It left me with a big grin that took hours to wear off.Don't go into this expecting a down under version of Ocean's 11. This is much more like The Ice Harvest, or Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead -- a sort of existentialist film noir fable. And a pure delight, provided you're in a receptive frame of mind.

ptb-8 Tough and profane, THE HARD WORD is a nasty little gem filmed in Australia during the criminal caper comedy run of production themes from 1999-2003. Like DIRTY DEEDS the same year, it was harshly judged and slid at the box office, but on a big screen it was quite enjoyable in its deliberately mean way. With an excellent cast including Guy Pearce and Rachel Griffiths, it also features a hugely silly putty nose stuck on Pearce's face. God knows why. Also in the cast are two of Australia's best character actors... the gorgeous Rhondda Findleton (see her also in LOVE IN LIMBO) and the adorable hilarious Torquil Neilson (from the equally maligned farce LET'S GET SKASE). Both these support actors would be big stars if on TV overseas but they just never get big release parts here in Australia... bit like the superb he man Jack Campbell from THE NOSTRDAMUS KID and charming Nicolas Beaumont. THE GUARDIAN star from TV Simon Baker ( of L.A. Confidential)seems to have taken all the roles for these guys in one career. THE HARD WORD is a wannabee heist caper with some nasty behavior. Sam Genocchio's 2004 micro budget crime calamity GET RICH QUICK also attempted the same Aussie genre with genuinely disgusting and hilarious results. Wait until you see how Rachel Griffiths greets Guy Pearce peering at her from behind the glass prison visiting room window in THE HARD WORD.... I hope she wasn't sitting next to her Mum at the premiere for that scene to unfold. Rachel! what a thing to agree to be photographed doing with that smile on your face! John Waters would have been thrilled.

goboogie I gave it a ten to drive up the average (though I don't believe thereare many ten movies out there).This is a cool, smooth movie, slick as Ocean's Eleven but not asglossy. Guy Pearce is merely great and how come that girl isn't sopretty but it works? She looks so much like Juliette Lewis it'suncanny. Not quite in the same league acting wise, but hey, this isAustralia. Where, by the way, the cops must be so stupid cuz thiscrew leaves dead bodies, including cops bodies, all over theirhomes and no one catches up to them. What is the hard word? Love? Or murder? You be the judge.

Tiger_Mark What is Guy Pearce thinking? This guy has a ton of talent and has made two memorable films (LA Confidential, Memento). However, he continues to waste his time with these types of stories and people start to forget who he is. I count myself as a huge fan of Mr. Pearce and I was one of about five people in the theater to see this film on the first day. Well, I thought that I had stumbled on an A&E television series from Australia, because that is what I saw. This film is weak, the story is scattered and the performances are lost. It is an Australian copy of "Oceans Eleven" or some other lame American caper. Moreover, it ends so badly, you don't mind, because you want it to be over. Slick trailer and movie poster, but a boring waste of time for a movie.