A meandering tale of a young Australian would-be country singer (Matt Day) on his way to Nashville to claim his fortune. In a little too unbelievable turn of events, he hitches a ride with a couple of con artists on the lam. He falls for the girl (Otto) and goes to prison with the guy, to cover for her.
Day's subdued obsessions is the charm of the film. His knack for country is not. Told in a needless twisted series of flashbacks and flashforwards, the story is not so much confusing as it is boring since we are revealed the inevitable climax early on.
A large part of the film spent with Day and the con man in a small outback jail, hence the name "doing time." The stereotypical characters in jail with them, Day and the con man's banal insights, and the unbelievably mixed attitude of the cops make this chunk of the film difficult to sit through. Indeed the audience is forced to do time.
Day's subdued obsessions is the charm of the film. His knack for country is not. Told in a needless twisted series of flashbacks and flashforwards, the story is not so much confusing as it is boring since we are revealed the inevitable climax early on.
A large part of the film spent with Day and the con man in a small outback jail, hence the name "doing time." The stereotypical characters in jail with them, Day and the con man's banal insights, and the unbelievably mixed attitude of the cops make this chunk of the film difficult to sit through. Indeed the audience is forced to do time.