This really was awfully disappointing. I've read and enjoyed Peter Carey's book of the same name that supposedly the film was based on, but there's a lot in the film I don't recall from that book, nor did some of it align with my general understanding of the saga of Edward Kelly.
It seemed to have been laid on with a trowel, eschewing subtlety for heavy handed sensationalism. Many of the settings didn't look right for the hills of Beveridge through to the north eastern Victorian high country.. Maybe it's a story that would better suit say 6 x 1 hour episodes rather than trying to jam it into 2½ hours and failing. The young and adult Ned Kelly were not believably the same person.
I liked Essie Davis as Ellen Kelly, and Josephine Blazier as Kate Kelly was convincing. Thereafter the roles failed to convince, let down by the screenplay, the settings and the lack of alignment with the generally accepted understanding of what happened.
It seemed to have been laid on with a trowel, eschewing subtlety for heavy handed sensationalism. Many of the settings didn't look right for the hills of Beveridge through to the north eastern Victorian high country.. Maybe it's a story that would better suit say 6 x 1 hour episodes rather than trying to jam it into 2½ hours and failing. The young and adult Ned Kelly were not believably the same person.
I liked Essie Davis as Ellen Kelly, and Josephine Blazier as Kate Kelly was convincing. Thereafter the roles failed to convince, let down by the screenplay, the settings and the lack of alignment with the generally accepted understanding of what happened.