The Square [Blu-ray]Few things are more satisfying than an effective crime thriller, and The Square is very, very effective. In this sinewy Australian flick, hapless construction overseer Raymond (David Roberts)–eager to hold on to his illicit lover Carla (Claire van der Boom)–starts with a little graft, which turns into a little arson and theft, which turns into murder, blackmail, and more murder. The plot rockets along, driven by the ruthless economy of director Nash Edgerton (a former stuntman who demonstrates a deep understanding of how to orchestrate danger) and screenwriter-actor Joel Edgerton (who plays a sympathetic firebug). Most modern attempts at film noir try to get the look of those classic low-budget crime flicks but have no idea what the genre is about; The Square could care less about shadows and cigarette smoke, but this movie–rife with desperation, greed, and lust–understands noir from the inside out. The whole cast is excellent, the editing swift, the action jolting. This is the best thriller since Blood Simple. Not to be missed. –Bret Fetzer
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(out of 4 reviews)
Review by Burgmicester for The Square [Blu-ray]
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When you are looking for a movie that is a little different and that will keep you interested throughout, but without any big names, this one will do nicely. The movie is a low budget film from Australia directed by Nash Edgerton and it stars his brother Joel Edgerton who also was a writer for this film. I found the acting to be quite good and the plotline was interesting and entertaining. This movie kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. I don’t like to give away plots, so I’ll give a quick summary: A contractor is taking bribes from his subcontractor. Meanwhile he is having an affair with woman in the same town. Her husband is close friends with another subcontractor. The woman finds that her husband has a stash of cash and so she and the contractor begin a plan to escape their marriages and their spouses. Thus begins the Manifestation of Murphy’s Law.
There are some negatives. The sound is very annoying. The actors are difficult to understand with their Aussie accents and the clarity of the sound makes it doubly difficult to make out all of the conversations. So I missed some of the subtleties. Some of the parts were overplayed – at the end particularly.
However, that said, I would definitely recommend this film to anyone that enjoys an edgy, tense drama. There was also a short film prior to the main feature; this was also a Nash Edgerton film. It was terrific and once during The Square, one of those characters makes his way into the emergency room (very Hitchcock like).
I’m giving it a 4 star rating because I enjoyed it; beware, though, my wife would only have given it a 2.5 star rating. But we often do not see eye to eye on movie reviews.
Review by Pennsylvania Settler for The Square [Blu-ray]
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Had the good fortune to see this in Pittsburgh last night, with a Q&A session with director Nash Edgerton after the film. This is the best thriller I’ve seen in a very long time — gritty, emotional and incredibly tense. Comparisons with the Coens and their debut ‘Blood Simple’ are inevitable, but ‘The Square’ is not a copycat film in any sense. The tension barely lets up during the course of the entire movie, and there’s a constant feel of menace, like something really bad is always lurking just around the corner (it usually is).
Performances, direction, screenplay, music — everything is top-shelf here. If you like thrillers this is not to be missed.
Review by Peter Davies for The Square [Blu-ray]
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Being an Australian this movie is quite good.It stars Joel Edgerton who is starting to appear in US Films , if you like thrillers give this a shot.If you enjoyed The Hard Word also starring Joel Edgerton and Guy Pearce then you will love this.
Review by cwede for The Square [Blu-ray]
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This was in and out of isolated big-city theaters in a flash.
Tense and engaging film-noir is way too rare these days.
I am hoping the Edgertons are this era’s John Dahl.