NZIFF Review: Australian folk hero Ned Kelly immortalised as symbol of oppression in True History of the Kelly Gang

True History of the Kelly Gang (2019), directed by Justin Kurzel and based on Peter Carey’s 2001 novel of the same name, follows bushranger and outlaw Ned Kelly and his cross-dressing gang as they become symbols of violence and oppression in 19th century Van Diemen’s Land, Australia.

The film, which opens the New Zealand International Film Festival 2020, tells the fictionalised history of Edward “Ned” Kelly (Orlando Schwerdt as a child, George MacKay as an adult) in a letter to his unborn daughter before his final moments with police, swearing it will "contain no single lie, may I burn in hell if I speak false".

The tale details the years leading up to his future as the "Monitor" with his bulletproof armour, beginning from his childhood as a young Irish-Catholic who is sold by his mother (Essie Davis) to bushranger Harry Power (Russell Crowe), who teaches him the tricks of the trade and the importance of being “an author of his own history”.

However, unlike The Nightingale (2018) , which screened at NZIFF 2019, True History is not concerned with avenging the injustices faced by women and Aboriginals at the hands of the British colonial police, but rather the “stolen men in a stolen land” taking back what is rightfully owed to them.

Throughout the film, Ned’s mythologising as a God-like figure among the poor and disenfranchised is interwoven with a history of familial dysfunction and the toxic masculinity of colonial Australia. Here is the seedy underbelly of what would later become known as Tasmania - of extreme acts of violence layered with Oedipal love, crossdressing and homoeroticism - which permeate the film’s core.

But secrets “shackle one tighter than any chain, and lies fester long after their invention,” as Ned learns, with truth and the importance of writing one’s own story, lest they be taken from them in death, returned to again and again.

While the film at times can be jarring through its anachronistic music and choice in camera movement for action sequences, and the lack of development in the forming of the gang rings false, True History is ultimately an enjoyable watch thanks to the performances of the cast.

George MacKay imbues Ned Kelly with a brand of doe-eyed innocence in spite of himself, while Nicholas Hoult is unnervingly charming as Constable Fitzpatrick, whose smile hides a more ruthless streak. Thomasin McKenzie is warm and likeable as sex worker Mary, though her inconsistent accent makes for distracting viewing at times. But it’s Essie Davis who shines as matriarch Ellen Kelly, whose warped motherly devotion judges the success of her parenting not on her children’s character, but “the lengths your children will go to kill for you.”

True History of the Kelly Gang is available in cinemas and online at NZIFF at Home - Online.

Warning: flashing lights

Rated R16 - Violence, sexual violence, offensive language and content that may disturb

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