These Final Hours
It's hardly ever that we hear about "us Aussies" being able to produce any good films unless it is tied to Baz Luhrmann, George Miller or the Gillian Armstrong's out there, not that I'm saying all Aussie directors are bad, I mean some are amazing I'm more referring to the fact that we are hardly ever regarded as being the more popular in general society. Every now and then though a shining star peaks out from under the clouds and delivers something very memorable. Zak Hilditch is a name I'm unaware of until now but he has had a few other films (Plum Role, The Actress) so this isn't his first time being let out to play. He also wrote the script for the film These Final Hours as well as the majority of his other films, so I'll definitely be looking up his previous films after seeing this one.
These Final Hours begins 10mins after a large asteroid has hit the Earth, in ten hours it will reach the population of Perth, a large city in Western Australia, the Asteroid is a planet killer and once the fireball its crash has created reaches you, you are obliterated, this indeed being the Earths final hours. James played by Nathan Phillips (Wolf Creek, Chernobyl Diaries) is lying in bed with his lover Zoe who has just told him that she is pregnant with his child. James only has one thing on his mind though, to attend the party to end all parties being held by his actual girlfriend's brother and best mate Freddie. James leaves Zoe alone with her thoughts and heads towards the party, along the way he spots 2 rough looking guys dragging a screaming young girl into a house. It's pretty obvious to James what the pair intend to do so he does what he must to save the girl. The girl's name is Rose and she has lost her father, not wanting to leave the child alone James takes her along thinking he'll be able to drop her off someplace more suitable where she can see out her final hours It's really hard to go any further without giving away anything so I'll leave the plot there. What follows though is a disturbing story that attempts to define what people will do when they are aware no matter what they do their time is over and there is no tomorrow.
It's a story told really well, it has its odd moments and some of the acting is very questionable, all in all though it's engaging. It has enough to keep you enthralled at the possibilities of what lies ahead. The relationship between Rose and James is a little odd as well but again, knowing how to act in their situation especially for a young child would have been really hard. The cinematography is awesome, a red/yellow tint throughout the entire film aids in the story it's trying to tell. There were a few very hard scenes to take in due to their nature but one of the best things the film does is makes you think . It makes you think about what you would do given the same situation, I really feel having those questions running through your mind throughout the film as well as after gives it a much higher appeal. Zak Hilditch is someone to keep your eyes out for in the future, I can see some very big things coming from this guy and I for one am looking forward to whatever they may be.
Not for kids, unless you enjoy the awkward questions that will follow, so many disturbing moments those emotional people will no doubt need a box of tissues handy.
It's hardly ever that we hear about "us Aussies" being able to produce any good films unless it is tied to Baz Luhrmann, George Miller or the Gillian Armstrong's out there, not that I'm saying all Aussie directors are bad, I mean some are amazing I'm more referring to the fact that we are hardly ever regarded as being the more popular in general society. Every now and then though a shining star peaks out from under the clouds and delivers something very memorable. Zak Hilditch is a name I'm unaware of until now but he has had a few other films (Plum Role, The Actress) so this isn't his first time being let out to play. He also wrote the script for the film These Final Hours as well as the majority of his other films, so I'll definitely be looking up his previous films after seeing this one.
These Final Hours begins 10mins after a large asteroid has hit the Earth, in ten hours it will reach the population of Perth, a large city in Western Australia, the Asteroid is a planet killer and once the fireball its crash has created reaches you, you are obliterated, this indeed being the Earths final hours. James played by Nathan Phillips (Wolf Creek, Chernobyl Diaries) is lying in bed with his lover Zoe who has just told him that she is pregnant with his child. James only has one thing on his mind though, to attend the party to end all parties being held by his actual girlfriend's brother and best mate Freddie. James leaves Zoe alone with her thoughts and heads towards the party, along the way he spots 2 rough looking guys dragging a screaming young girl into a house. It's pretty obvious to James what the pair intend to do so he does what he must to save the girl. The girl's name is Rose and she has lost her father, not wanting to leave the child alone James takes her along thinking he'll be able to drop her off someplace more suitable where she can see out her final hours It's really hard to go any further without giving away anything so I'll leave the plot there. What follows though is a disturbing story that attempts to define what people will do when they are aware no matter what they do their time is over and there is no tomorrow.
It's a story told really well, it has its odd moments and some of the acting is very questionable, all in all though it's engaging. It has enough to keep you enthralled at the possibilities of what lies ahead. The relationship between Rose and James is a little odd as well but again, knowing how to act in their situation especially for a young child would have been really hard. The cinematography is awesome, a red/yellow tint throughout the entire film aids in the story it's trying to tell. There were a few very hard scenes to take in due to their nature but one of the best things the film does is makes you think . It makes you think about what you would do given the same situation, I really feel having those questions running through your mind throughout the film as well as after gives it a much higher appeal. Zak Hilditch is someone to keep your eyes out for in the future, I can see some very big things coming from this guy and I for one am looking forward to whatever they may be.
Not for kids, unless you enjoy the awkward questions that will follow, so many disturbing moments those emotional people will no doubt need a box of tissues handy.