As I have mentioned before, we belong to the San Diego Cinema Society, which is great. We see a lot of first-run films before they go public. We also get to watch documentaries, foreign films that often never make it to the U.S., and some art-house films that do not get wide distribution. Most of these movies are excellent. And then there is Goldstone.
Goldstone (Alex Russell, Aaron Pederson, Jackie Weaver) – Making the rounds of film festivals is the Australian homage to the modern western Goldstone. Think Hell or High Water meets Wind River. Goldstone is a cop drama set in the Outback. With a cast you have never heard of except for Oscar nominee Jackie Weaver (Silver Linings Playbook), Goldstone is a snooze fest of the first order.
Slow. Was it slow? Well, for the first time I can remember, both Julie and I fell asleep, apparently in the same place at one point. It isn’t that Goldstone doesn’t have its moments. When the shooting begins and the local cops take on the bad guys, the movie feels like the climax of Wind River. But when it bogs down in the dialogue-heavy story of two policemen enforcing the laws in very different ways, it becomes somniferous (sleep inducing).
The sweet cop, Josh (Alex Russell), goes about his job gently, dealing with the drunks and the trespassers. He’ll turn a blind eye to the questionable practices of the local major employer, a mining company that provides most of the jobs in the area. There’s the morally compromised mayor (Weaver), who is having an affair with the manager of the mine and whose ever-present smile and cryptic dialogue is threateningly spooky. And then there is the driven, perpetually drunk cop, Jay Swan (Aaron Pederson). He is looking for a missing Asian girl who had no business in the Outback. The cops are diametric opposites who eventually end up working to expose a human trafficking ring that provides an ongoing supply of prostitutes to the mine’s workers.
Is there too much going on here? Oh yes. Could they have told this in a more boring way? No. Can the producers and director Ivan Sen make excuses for the slow pace, which mirrors the laid-back, forgotten world of rustic life in the country? Sure. Is that enough to make this movie worth seeing? Only if you need a nap.
So I have two suggestions for you. Watch Hell or High Water and Wind River. And if you find this film and decide to see it, buy a caffeinated beverage, some chocolate, and a vat of popcorn to help get you through it.