There is a punk feel to this Ned Kelly. There is no romanticism in the violence but the romance is what drives the narrative in the way that Ned writes to his unborn child. It is brutal and gory, set in a barren depiction of 19th century Australia. It’s an intense couple of hours and far from George MacKay’s previous role in 1917 (2019). He really demonstrates his range as an actor in this strange and off-beat film.
Space is given to the female voices in this depiction with Thomasin McKenzie continuing to shine in every film she is in as she plays Ned’s love Mary, and Essie Davis plays Ned’s mother. Russell Crowe gives a more convincing musical performance than he did in Les Misérables (2012) although the lyrics are not for the faint hearted, and definitely earn the R rating.
It provides a good origin story, if you were to consider the outlaw a kind of superhero, with a good chronological structure, but this treatment of the legend of Ned Kelly, Australian outlaw and notorious bushranger, portrays him more like a madman than any kind of hero.
There are plenty of references to writing and literature which offer a nice nod to the novel source material. There are fantastic moments for the lighting, production and costume design, particularly in the final battle, but there are also many scenes that are uncomfortable to watch with no apparent purpose than to just be uncomfortable.
‘True History of the Kelly Gang’ is available to stream on Prime Video.
Pep Reviews 