Restorative Justice is a contemporary approach to justice that endeavours to come up with a more contemporary way of dealing with offenders and the crimes that they have committed. The punishment for the offender does not lie in facing the court system, but in the offender going face to face in a community conference, chaired by a qualified mediator, with the victim, and other parties involved, and explaining and apologizing for his/her actions. The fostering of dialogue between victim and offender has been vindicated by high rates of victim satisfaction and offender accountability.
Between the years 2000 and 2001 Australia’s premiere playwright David Williamson wrote three plays on this subject. The trilogy, FACE TO FACE, A CONVERSATION and CHARITABLE INTENT, were each performed at Sydney’s Ensemble theatre. The first of the trilogy, FACE TO FACE, has now been successfully adapted to the big screen by leading Australian film director Michael Rymer (ANGEL BABY, QUEEN OF THE DAMNED).
Rymer’s own words best describe his approach to telling Williamson’s well structured narrative (which, even with its theatrical background still has the feel of a classic literary short story). ‘This is a film that demands the camera go from face to face- the landscapes of the film are the actors faces- the special effects are the emotion rippling across their eyes and mouths. Not all films have to be the same- there’s room for very visual films and there’s room for films like this’.
With FACE TO FACE Rymer proves that there’s always going to be room for films that showcase authentic characters and first class acting! Rymer astutely employs two levels for his movie; the action that takes place in the conference room, and the level of flashbacks that fill in the picture up to the present situation.
Luke Ford is well cast as Wayne Travers a temperamental, naïve, simple minded working class young man. He is sacked from his job as an employee of Baldoni scaffolding after he chooses to ram his ute into his boss’s jaguar. Vince Colosimo is great as Greg’s mortified boss, the suave, sleazy Greg Baldoni.
Sigrid Thornton is superb as Greg’s volatile wife who learns some dark things about her husband. Ra Chapman gives a moving performance playing Greg’s disillusioned accountant who speaks out against some of her boss’s practices.
Laura Gordon is striking as the beautiful but not too sensitive ‘young thing’ that Greg employs as his secretary.Hakim Slimon gives a totally convincing performance as Robert Rabiah, ‘the man’s man’ character, the ultimate tattooed Australian construction worker.
Barry McLean as Wayne’s loyal friend, Josh Saks, Christopher Connolly as Wayne’s over-protective co-worker Richard Halligan, and Lauren Clair as Wayne’s highly-strung mum, Maureen, also give noteworthy performances.
FACE TO FACE, by its nature, is not the kind of film that is likely to be a great success at the box office. Rymer’s words again to end on. ‘Our real hope for this film is that, like TWELVE ANGRY MEN, FACE TO FACE will have a long life in Law Schools, Civics Classes, high schools and community centres around the world. And who knows maybe a small movie can change big things’. Meaning, maybe human beings will be able to problem solve and work through issues, even highly personal ones, rather than abuse and harm each other!
Michael Rymer’s FACE TO FACE is already having previews around arthouses in Sydney and officially opens on Thursday 9th September, 2011.
© David Kary
1st September, 2011