*Spoilers* If the worth of a film is measured in its audience's response, the woman dry-heaving next to me definitely got her money's worth. Set in 1983, a working class simpleton, Ray Jenkins - played by co-director Angus Sampson ('Insidious' / '100 Bloody Acres')- is detained in at a West Australia airport upon returning home from Bangkok where he was convinced to ingest and transport 20 condoms full of heroin. The initial tone of the film signals that this might be a comedy of some sort but any sense of humor is swiftly lost as a cruel group of police officers (lead by Hugo Weaving in one of his most intimidating rolls to date) starts (let's say) 'pressing progress' toward resolving the case as Ray struggles to 'postpone the discovery' of his guilt – lots of innuendo here - throughout 10 days of observation. Along the way, Ray's circumstance results in a domino effect that uncovers crimes far larger than his own. I couldn't stay for the Q&A but the film is presented as having been based on true events and, as unbelievable as it was, I never questioned it for a moment. Though Google provides a slew of 1983 Australian drug smugglers, I can't find a single reference to these events and, as much as I liked this film, if they pulled a 'Fargo' on me, I adore it. Co-directors Tony Mahoney & Angus Sampson bring new meaning to anal retentive with this very different sort of horror film.
