Examiner
David Voigt
September 27, 2011

Starring Hugo Weaving, Rose Byrne & Matt Le Nevez

Written & Directed by Jonathan Ogilvie

That sound we all hear is the noise of video store shelves being restocked here in Toronto with the brand new releases of the week for us all to take in.  Sometimes however the case may be that even though the film is new to us, it may not be new around the globe.  Originally released in 2008, and the winner of an Australian Film Institute award, this tale of revenge and love was originally known as ‘The Tender Hook’.  Out today on DVD from our friends at Alliance Films under its new title is “The Boxer And The Bombshell”.

Set in 1920’s Sydney, Australia “The Boxer And The Bombshell” offers up violence, passion and intrigue as the fuel that lights the fire for a passionate love triangle between Iris (Byrne) a femme fatale looking for a new life, an underworld fight promoter and kingpin (Weaving) and an aspiring boxer looking for a better life (Le Nevez).  When Iris is forced to choose between the two men both steeped in the world of smoky nightclubs and dingy boxing gyms hidden truths for all involved come to light in a flood of deception and murder.

Not a perfect film by any means, but writer/director Jonathan Ogilvie gave this a pretty distinct retro look and feel.  The story moved at fairly decent pace, all be it a little flat in a lot of parts where there was supposed to be dramatic tension and the characters were given very little back story or motivation, but this film was more about the execution then any emotional connection to the characters.  It’s an old story as the themes of love, power & passion have been explored many times before, but it moved at good pace and didn’t drag too much.  With “The Boxer And The Bombshell” style won out of substance.

The cast was solid yet unspectacular, Rose Byrne and Hugo Weaving both played their roles well enough but it was obvious that both actors took these roles in an effort to work on a production close to home and support their local film industry.  Everybody’s work on this film was adequate, but mostly phoned in as none of these talents were really challenged by the material that they were working with.

At the end of the day; “The Boxer And The Bombshell” looked great and spun a decent yarn, but it’s been done before and it’s been done better.

2 out of 5 stars.

“The Boxer And The Bombshell” is available now at video stores across Toronto, click here for more details.