Reviews

Life in the '60s but this time as experienced in a small Australian town in the middle of nowhere. The story isn't new - Sam comes back to the town he left and the girl he left behind,Meg, now seeing his best friend Johnny. But the way it is filmed with unusual shots, great atmosphere and soundtrack and excellent performances all round make it a real treat. Russell plays Johnny who cracks up when he thinks his girlfriend is leaving him, with tragic consequences. You can easily see how this performance put him well on the track to playing Hando, Cort, Bud White and Maximus.

Admittedly I'm a dedicated Crowe fan and have almost all his old movies but when I first got Heaven's Burning I found it a bit odd and would have said - well all great actors have to put in time on mediocre movies before they get to the top stuff. However after watching it again today for about the sixth or seventh time, I have to say that it really is very watchable. Even those awful sideburns. But thanks for not inflicting them on us again Russell. Yes its a road movie crossed with Bonnie & Clyde,Aussie version, but the tender little love story, the fast pace, the violent bits and the collection of grotesque characters met on the way make for an interesting ride.

After all the hype when the movie was released about the affair between Russell and Meg, the tizzy that Taylor Hackford apparently got into over it and the 'hot' scene that only made it to the cutting room, floor, now we can have a properly dispassionate look.As always Russell is excellent, ["the thinking woman's Sylvester Stallone" as someone put it not untruthfully ]although for diehard fans like me it was hard to have to wait till two-thirds of the way through for him to get his shirt off and show us those gorgeous hunky shoulders.

No I'm afraid Meg isn't going to make it as a 'serious' actress - apparently what she wants to do - if this is anything to go by. By the time she had re-applied her pink lipgloss for the hundredth time and wrung her little hands yet again, I wanted to yell "Stick to being Doris Day for the modern generation!" because that is where her particular talents lie I'm afraid.

The story is gripping, the direction taut and David Morse was sympathetic as the kidnap victim. Glorious scenery. See it.

Make no mistake, this film is all about ice hockey. With one or two little bits of story mixed in and one or two interesting characters, mainly Ron Eldard who plays the randy school teacher and Mary Mc Cormack who is nice as the sheriff's wife. If you're a Russell Crowe fan like me, you'll want to know that he does wear an awful lot of clothes - mainly woolly sweaters, hats and gloves - and only takes them off a couple of times so you won't get to see much of the real Russell. He can skate though, as all the blokes can. It's what they do in Mystery you see. Definitely on the list if you're a Crowe fan but not one of his very best. Too damned cold!