After Detective Jason Pearson (Luke Hemsworth, TV’s Bikie Wars: Brothers in Arms) is found dead, fellow officers Robbie Green (Jonathan LaPaglia, Love Child) and Jane Lambert (Viva Bianca, Turkey Shoot) endeavour to piece together the puzzle of his murder. Videos of two teens on their own quest for answers proves instrumental in the police search – a chronicle of Rachel’s (Hanna Mangan Lawrence, Old School) efforts to find the person responsible for the loss of her sister (debutant Chelsea Williamson), as assisted by her pal AJ (Alex Williams, Underground: The Julian Assange Story).
So unravels The Reckoning, Australian writer/director John V. Soto’s latest movie. Making his name with 2009’s Crush and Prey, and 2010’s Needle, the filmmaker sticks firmly to his field of expertise in another appropriation of standard genre fare; however his chosen confines are once again thoughtfully and tenaciously explored. His current outing offers a crime thriller steeped in revenge, tinted with religion, and set in Perth’s seedy underworld, patching together a tapestry of trickery where everything feels familiar but nothing can be taken at face value.
As emblematic of his work to date, many of Soto’s basic components stem from the realm of the well-worn and seen-before, from protagonist archetypes to narrative developments. Two such aspects drive the feature: the typical troubled cop with a wife and family he spends too much time away from, as well a drinking habit that helps him forget past misdeeds; and the use of found footage to drip-feed dramatic details. Yet Soto does more than copy the obvious and cobble together easy elements into a bland amalgam or rote homage, showing poise and precision in his slow building of suspense. Where originality may be absent in much of the movie’s composition, an abundance of ambition and confidence offers ample compensation.
The filmmaker’s flourishes best manifest not in the story, though clever baiting and switching helps enhance content that would have been average if given the linear treatment, but in style. The Reckoning’s aesthetics brood with foreboding, the feature imbued with moody hues as well as literal and figurative shadows. Any opportunity to couch the characters in murkiness is taken, as Soto and his cinematographer Jason Thomas (Little Sparrows) create bleak imagery to match the tenor of their tale, from the darkness of the slick bulk of the film to the purposeful unsteadiness of the inter-spliced handi-cam segments. Thomas Rouch’s (Reverse Runner) sinister yet melodic score proves an apt complement.
While the marquee names adorning the cast’s pair of less-famous siblings may attract attention, especially with both handling their roles with the requisite grit, the film belongs to Lawrence. LaPaglia is undoubtedly the lead, and impressively conveys the hidden layers of his anti-hero’s struggle; however Lawrence steals every scene she is in as his elusive foil, a determined runaway propelled by a vigilante mindset. One plays as expected, the other turns what may have been a routine supporting turn into the feature’s powerful emotional centre. Their efforts mimic The Reckoning’s end result: an effective take on genre material acquainted to most yet augmented by its assurance.
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
The Reckoning
Director: John V. Soto
Australia, 2014, 86 mins
Release date: September 4
Distributor: Film Scope Entertainment
Rated: M
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