The Legend of Ben Hall NSW Film Premier - Griffith City Cinema

It was all action at Griffith City Cinema with the NSW premiere screening  of Matthew Holmes film The Legend of Ben Hall, which is due for national release on December 1st.  The film was written, produced and directed by Matthew and actually started life as a 40 minute short film funded through Kickstarter, when funding exceeded its production  goal, it began to take on this feature film shape, and I am certainly glad it did.

Matthew has worked hard to base this film on the events that occurred between August 1864 and May 1965 and to make it as accurate as possible.  The accuracy even goes to casting, with actors selected on their resemblance to the actual people. The dialogue between the lead characters comes from the newspaper articles of the time and eye witness statements.  Probably the only thing that looks a little different is the landscape, with much of the film work completed in Victoria, though some was shot around Forbes and Jugiong. 

Matthew's film doesn't try to make Hall look like an Australian version of Robin Hood, nor does he try and justify why Hall is a crook.  He only hints at a relationship breakdown between he and his wife and a third party and the estrangement from his son.  His aim is to provide a window into a period of time when bushrangers roamed the highways linking the settlements across the expanding farmlands of this country, and while we often think that it was the outlaws of the American West who were the bad guys, the Aussie versions were far worse.  The Hall gang alone were responsible for more than 600 major crimes. Holmes is able to highlight how Hall was conflicted during the last nine months of his life, as he carried out the increased criminal activity.

So the film has no headline names, those expensive drawcards to attract an audience, no, this is the next generation of actors, young and enthusiastic and revelling in the roles they play. Jack Martin (Ben Hall), Jamie Coffa (John Gilbert), William Lee (John Dunn), Joanne Dobbin (Biddy Hall), Adam Willson (Mick Conelay) and Eric Field (Mary Conelay) are the key cast of this film and they are supported by a very strong number behind them.  Most of this crew will be largely unknown to most of us, having only played supporting roles in some recent tele dramas, but  I think this is one of the great draw cards in this film, you don't have to think about is Nicole doing the accent right for the character, no you only have to concentrate own the story as it unfolds.  

The story itself, because it actually follows the real life story doesn't make up new devices so that we don't have extra made up story lines or even a background to what has happened, no this is not conventional story telling, this is capturing a moment in time in retelling it as accurately as possible, as it rollicks along, and believe me there is plenty of action, and lots of ducking behind theatre  seats as bullets whistle past you. But as out comes to its climax, beautifully photographed by Peter Szilveszter, edited by Caitlin Spiller and Matthew Holmes, this last great ballet of gunfire, bloodlust and finally death, that our storylines come together. It is a bit over 2 hours long, but it doesn't feel like it because you are carried along by the pace of the story.

As with nearly all Australian films, the landscape becomes its own star. There is something about the light and how it brings the colours of the Australian bush to life.  Ben Hall and his gang ranged over 20,000 spare miles, from Bathurst to Forbes to Gundagai and Goulburn and as we all know that includes a huge variation in landscape and this is well represented in the film. What was remarkable is the locations of key scenes are landmarks that are familiar with many of us, and that makes it even more available to us. 

The production values demonstrate a strong desire to stay with historical accuracy, nothing was left to chance and even the guns were all as you would have expected at the time.  I liked the detail about casting their bullets out of lead and then working them so they would fire accurately. Recreating historical drama's is an expensive business, and its remarkable how accurate this film is without having access to the big studio funding buckets.  

No film is complete without sound, and this film is no different.  The audio wraps around you and its delicious, from the wind through leaves to the familiar call of the Magpie, it's a work of art in itself. This is further enhanced by Ronnie Minder 's sumptuous scoring of the film, its different themes that return through the film, some dark and moody, and those that great sweeping themes that sit well with the screen images. 

Craig Tesler certainly knows how to throw a party for flicks. Craig has been keen on this film for a while and is also one on the many people who have invested in the film, as a cinema manager, he pours his heart and soul into film and it's presentation. Cinema is the 20th century's addition to the story telling art, and Craig has provided a number of key events celebrating significant Australian films (narratives and documentaries.  These extra layers add so much to the movie going experience, and that it can happen in a small regional town well off the main traffic thoroughfare is also pretty awesome. 

When the film returns in a few weeks time it will have to compete with the big Hollywood blockbusters, but it deserves to have as big an audience as they will get, because it tells our story, and sadly it's not one many of us know or hear about.  

Australian Cinema in the past couple of years has made huge strides in quality of story and production, and there is nothing like seeing yourself on the big screen,  these are stories that are contemporary and also of the past.  The more opportunities we have of telling and sharing these stories the more we know about ourselves, how through our mixed heritage, we have developed in the way we have. 

Jack Martin (as Ben Hall) and Ben Hall

Cast and Director/Producer Matthew Holmes (https://www.facebook.com/pg/benhallmovie)

The Legend of Ben Hall

Writer/ Director Matthew Holmes

Producers Russell Cunningham, Jessica Pearce, Matthew Holmes, Michael Favelle

Executive Producers Greg Mclean, Ross Angelo, Adam La Rosa, William Lee, Silvio Salom, Veronica Sive

Cast Jack Martin, Jamie Coffa, William Lee, Callan McAuliffe, Joanne Dobbin, Arthur Angel, PiaGrace Moon, Andy McPhee

Duration 135 mins