It’s surprising how rarely Australian cinema takes on the Western. For a country with such a rich sense of place – and so many appropriate locations – it’s odd that the genre is so largely overlooked (often in favour of the kitchen sink). And so Mystery Road wends its way onto the screen as a welcome addition to the Australian cinematic landscape; following in some familiar footsteps, while also carving out a path of its own.
The film unfolds in a languid series of vignettes as our taciturn protagonist, Detective Jay Swan (Aaron Pedersen), traverses his remote hometown investigating the death of local Aboriginal girl. As Swan circles the dusty roads, each revolution brings him closer to his own past, and deeper into dangerous territory. Largely silent, Swan’s questioning brings him face to face with some brilliant and at times brutally tense cameos from Ryan Kwanten, David Field, Tasma Walton and Jack Thompson. Meanwhile, the effortlessly malevolent Hugo Weaving makes for a jocular antagonist in the form of a fellow cop with some secrets to protect.
Where the film succeeds with its cast, it falters precariously with its pacing. And though Pedersen is a palpable presence, the film’s writer and director Iven Sen might have upped the intrigue if he’d shortened our journey down Mystery Road.
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