rc_harris

This was a decent enough film on its own merits, however I urge anyone who enjoyed it, or even thought they were going to enjoy it but didn't, to watch Hotel Coolgardie. This is the true story documentary that the film is based on. The film is set in a very similar place, but the characters in the film, rough as they might be supposed to be, are far more clean cut than the people in real life. They are also far less sinister than the real life people, albeit it's more subtle in the documentary. Hotel Coolgardie really shows the pitfalls of isolation and toxic masculinity, and paints a really frightening portrait of rural Australia.

The beginning and end of the book have been completely removed, which took out the twist and the emotional punch.

Honestly, every single bit that stayed with me from the novel they took out, and instead turned it into a really basic police hunt bad guy movie.

There are so many nuances which have been lost. So many characters are thin, backstories removed or changed. It really is an appalling piece of script writing.

The only saving graces are the excellent cast, Tom Hardy in particular.

Do yourself a favour and read the book and don't bother with the movie. It's far more interesting and gives a bit of a history lesson too.