Felony - Ein Moment kann alles verändern

After a few drinks celebrating not being killed during a bust, a police detective clips a cyclist with his car, rendering the young rider into a coma. Covering up the facts of the accident, with help from a superior, his conscience starts to attack both his state of mind, and that of his life at home. Something which is noticed by an up-coming young detective...

Ooh, the agony, the moral conundrum. It's pretty much a morality play, one that is very well mounted by the makers. Written and starring Joel Edgerton, it also stars Tom Wilkinson, Jai Courtney and Melissa George. After a quick-fire opening the pic settles into a brooding sense of emotional torture, a slow burn approach that casts caustic eyes over police cover ups and the folly of the human condition. A potential romantic thread feels unnecessary, while some of the dialogue leaves a lot to be desired, but with Wilkinson shining, Mark Wareham's photography the same, it's a better than average morally tinged drama. Though the ending will infuriate some... 6/10

Felony is not an easy movie to discuss and talk about. It prompts us not only to consider such confusing dilemma, but also to think about the wide-range human behaviors and how they differ from one to another. Questions are raised by this phenomenal picture; Can we make the right decisions in critical situations? Do we even know what is the right thing to do in such conditions? Could the discreet steps lead us to even a harsher life than a lie followed by nothing more that an agonizing guilt?

Besides, this movie brings us the truth about how judgmental people are! They strive to expose the truth when it has nothing to do with them, and try to cover it up when they're involved or experiencing similar incidents.

I got a bit irritated by the very fact of our world shown in Felony; our world is becoming, day by day, a more brutal and frightening place to live in. Criminals and culprits are freely wandering outside, while innocent people (or those who made bad things unintentionally) are being charged and thrown to jail, not to mention cold-blooded murders and misdeeds (Mal felt guilty at least, although he didn't do anything bad, while those savage pedophiles were far from remorse).

The acting is a first-class. Tom Wilkinson is an accomplished master (I think his part from the script was the best among the others), and Joel Edgerton should be proud of himself for his gripping performance and astounding writing. The screenplay written by him is obviously due to his open mind and prosperous skills. Melissa George was utterly outstanding depicting Julie, Mal's wife, that did what a smart woman would do to keep her family up together. However, I expected watching more on-screen of hers, but she is never short of brilliant, skillful actress. She simply shone with her minor role.

In Felony, The right is wrong and the wrong is right, and maybe not. It's a great picture showing a humane issues and a puzzling dilemma that if you consider carefully, you would most definitely drive safely and cautiously!

THE STORY:

The duplicity of right and wrong is highlighted in this moody psychological police drama when an accident evokes conflicting responses from each of the people concerned.

TOP THREE PERFORMANCES:

1. Tom Wilkinson. His old-school senior detective is charismatic, convincing, and always endearing despite his questionable ethics.

2. Joel Edgerton. His confused and arrogant cop is compelling in his failing efforts to do what he knows is right.

3. Melissa George. Her empathetic and emotional mother shines in her primary motivation to protect her family.

THREE THINGS WE LIKED:

The intriguing plot that transformed all the players - The intense and lengthy stillness of the close ups - The simple and muted palette of Grey, blue & black

THREE WORDS: A Human Story

Another one of the recent spat of Australian films that have failed to find an audience at home despite good reviews, Joel Edgerton scripted and Matthew Saville directed Felony is a frustrating experience due to it being a film that constantly threatens to become something powerful, yet is consistently bought down back to a level that makes it easy to see why people failed to fork out the cash to see a tale that isn't overly original or as effective as it wants to be.

Starting out in a hugely promising fashion, Felony looks likely to be one of those searing Australian dramas in the vein of Animal Kingdom or even Saville's own under-seen gem Noise, yet quickly descends into a procession of seen before events that culminate in a fairly unimpressive ending. The central scenario that Edgerton and Saville create is an intriguing one and a ripe potential idea and it's clear that the idea was developed first and the strands that follow afterwards and the film just can't keep up its beginning pace that sees some smart scripting and direction take place. You'll be undoubtedly hooked as these detectives look to cover up a shocking accident and thanks to some fine acting the film remains viable despite it's failures.

Edgerton remains a solid if unspectacular core to the film but the continued emergence of Jai Courtney and the ever good work of Tom Wilkinson (here called in to ad gravitas to a film that needed the weight) really brings the film to life. Courtney does some fine work as young detective Jim, even though he is saddled to the films horrid and awkward love story but it really is Wilkinson that steals this show. Wilkinson is both sympathetic, calculated and snarling as old time detective Summer. Wilkinson bites into the script and comes out on fire, it's a joy to see such a veteran of the industry come to our fair shores and show us how it's done and he clearly had a blast with this character. Director Saville also comes up trumps here despite some narrative flaws in the story and his direction honed in film and quality TV like The Slap has clearly set him up well.

While many bemoan local audiences failing to support home grown films, if the films are like Felony there's no reason why we should be forking out hard earned money on films like this. There not bad films but there films that aren't likely to cause people much excitement as truth be told, it's nothing we haven't been witness to before and Felony just doesn't do enough to leap from the pack even though it has some nice moments.

3 side view mirrors out of 5

"Felony," from 2013, is a film written by and starring Joel Edgerton, Jai Courtney, and Tom Wilkinson. These actors play Australian police detectives who are brought into conflict after a tragedy.

Edgerton plays Malcolm Toohey. After a few drinks, he is driving home when he hits a boy who is riding a bicycle. The boy is not wearing a helmet and is bleeding.

Panicked, Malcolm calls for paramedics. He says initially that he didn't see anything, that he saw something in the street and it turned out to be the boy. Later on he says he saw the tail lights of a car as it turned the corner.

This discrepancy is noted by a new detective, Jim Melic (Courtney). Courtney's partner is a veteran, Carl Summer (Wilkinson). Melic doesn't understand the way the incident is handled. The car was not impounded, for one thing, and the discrepancy in Malcolm's statement isn't questioned.

Melic becomes obsessed with gathering evidence on the case, particularly after meeting the boy's mother and seems to become interested in her. Summer, on the other hand, wants him to stop investigating. Malcolm? His conscience is killing him.

Good movie, if not great, with an excellent performance by Wilkinson, as always. There is something about his presence in any film that elevates it, in my opinion. He is such an excellent actor, and has such a wide range, that he draws a viewer in immediately.

Joel Edgerton approached his role in an internalized way, probably not to everyone's taste, but his performance is solid. Jai Courtney comes off in his role as a determined detective who is able to keep his emotions in check until the very end, sort of inwardly seething.

All in all, very good, also quite dark. No one leaves this world unscathed.