Who’s to Blame?

THIS taut little Australian thriller points the way for our film industry.
At a cost of less than $2 million – or approximately the catering budget of a Hollywood epic – there’s a lot to like about Blame.
The plot starts at a cracking pace, with a home invasion at an isolated, rustic property in the Perth foothills.
The invaders are dressed in their Sunday best, and we soon learn that, with the addition of balaclavas, they’ve come straight from a friend’s funeral.
They blame the home’s occupant for their friend’s death, and are planning a little assisted suicide – albeit an unwilling one.
Had their mission proceeded smoothly, Blame would have been a very short film indeed.
But of course, it doesn’t, and after that it’s game on for young and old.
There are quite a few twists and turns along the way, with some surprises in store.
Kestie Morassi, perhaps best-known for Satisfaction on pay TV, heads a cast of hot young Australian actors.
The stunning scenery around Perth takes second billing.
This is part of the new wave of gritty Aussie films like Animal Kingdom and Snowtown.
And while not quite in their league, it’s very good indeed.
Australian movies are often criticised for their hopelessness, for their distance from reality, and for being pale imitations of their Hollywood cousins.
Blame avoids all of these traps.
Yet, if not for Nova in Carlton, you wouldn’t be able to see this film at all, in Australia’s second-largest city, during a Hollywood drought.
It’s a tragedy this one couldn’t make it onto more screens.
– Jason Beck