Tag: Roy Billing

My Life Is Murder (2019) s03e03 – Bloodlines

Since “My Life is Murder” started as a relatively straight Melbourne-based mystery procedural, I don’t know if they would’ve done a horseback riding episode first season. I don’t think they did one last season. But they have so much fun with it this time; I imagine it has to be because star and executive producer Lucy Lawless wanted to ride horses against a beautiful New Zealand backdrop. This episode’s mystery involves a stud farm—of the equestrian variety—which provides lots of opportunities for breathtaking scenery and beautiful horses.

The show’s either an advertisement for New Zealand to the point they ought to suggest B&Bs, or it’s all a humble brag about how much better things are there than everywhere else. Except for the murdering, of course. There’s lots of murdering about.

Lawless’s regular sidekick, Ebony Vagulans, is still pretending to be in Paris this episode, so Lawless again has new sidekick Tatum Warren-Ngata. Not sure how they’re going to handle having both of them around (the teaser spoils Vagulans’s return). Lawless and Warren-Ngata continue to make a good team. Lawless has a fine foil in most of the episode with old curmudgeon Roy Billing, leading to Warren-Ngata getting into trouble. Warren-Ngata’s on leave from the Navy; I guess she can come in and out as needed.

Anyway.

Billing sort of runs the stud farm because new owner Te Kobe Tuhaka is a sharp dresser but not a horse studder. Tuhaka’s dad started the business, and Billing worked for him. The dad also semi-adopted Steel Strang, whose murder kicks off the episode. It looks like a horse done it, but Ramiri Jobe found some contradictory evidence. It’s contradictory enough that it’s unclear why he’s having Lawless do the case off the books since it’s like, you know, evidence.

There are several suspects—the horse, obviously, Billing, Tuhaka, Tuhaka’s estranged sister, Miriam McDowell, stud farm human stud Jono Kenyon (who immediately cozies up to Lawless), and studding scientist Jessica Grace Smith. The solution will involve almost all of them; very intricate plotting; Stacy Gregg gets the writer credit.

Overall, it’s another solid episode. Lawless and Billing have a great time together (so do Lawless and Kenyon). There are a couple character reveals for Lawless; one secret she’s keeping from Warren-Ngata (and the audience), then another secret she’s keeping from everyone (but the audience).

Erskineville Kings (1999, Alan White)

Okay, so Marty Denniss is a playwright. Erskineville Kings makes some more sense. Not a lot more sense, but some. It’s a peculiar picture, a human drama with a lot of dialogue–it’s set over a day–and it’s all in a few indoor locations. But Denniss, the writer, emphasizes himself, the actor, as the protagonist, when he’s really quite boring. Denniss’s character only works because Denniss is such a mediocre actor. He delivers his lines naturally, but the guy comes off like a complete idiot. He’s a dullard, which is interesting, because he’s supposedly the smart brother (as opposed to Hugh Jackman’s macho man).

It’s a problematic film–White loves color, which is great and the picture’s vibrant and compelling to look at it–but there are all these strange walking sequences, apparently included to get the running time over eighty minutes. They should have left them out and embraced Kings as an extended short subject.

The walking scenes, around the desolate, empty town, would mean something if Erskineville was a real place. But it isn’t–and Denniss, the writer, doesn’t do any work to make the viewer care about this down on its luck small city.

Jackman’s performance is incredible; the film succeeds because of him. It’s not even a leading man performance, as Denniss poorly gives himself that role.

The supporting cast, Andrew Wholley, Aaron Blabey and Joel Edgerton, is excellent.

Denniss’s script has some great dialogue and is paced well. It’s the concept, not the execution.

3/4★★★

CREDITS

Directed by Alan White; written by Marty Denniss; director of photography, John Swaffield; edited by Jane Moran; music by Don Miller-Robinson; production designer, Andrew Horne; produced by Julio Caro and White; released by Palace Films.

Starring Marty Denniss (Barky), Hugh Jackman (Wace), Andrew Wholley (Coppa), Aaron Blabey (Tunny), Joel Edgerton (Wayne), Leah Vandenberg (Lanny), Marin Mimica (Kane), Lauren Clair (Ruby), Louise Birgan (Natasha) and Roy Billing as the ticket officer.

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