Last Stop Larrimah

Too slow to be that boring.

It's basically an episode of "Days of our lives" Aussie bush version.

Maybe this is a typical small Aussie bush town but damn did they have to live up to all out crappy stereotypes?! How embarrassing The alcoholism is at the centre. They'd have to all be drunk driving every day. Disgusting.

The cussing like it's normal. Classy.

Living in a town with so few people is asking for trouble. Not only are troubled people attracted to towns in the middle of nowhere but familiarity breeds contempt and it certainly did here. U won't like these "characters".

Xxx.xxxxxxzzzzzz.

I love stories about small towns. So, this one really intrigued me from the get-go. The piece begins with the (ten) inhabitants talking about their decision to move to Larrimah in the first place, and what they love about it. We then move to the mystery of a missing man and the filters of suspicion suddenly switch on. Frankly, the slow-burn reveals of the townsfolk surprised me one after the other. Not only do some hold major grudges against the rest, but they're also completely open about it.

The aesthetics of the place (and its people) had my attention throughout. The pub with the crocodile, the pie shop, the bush, the stilt houses, the large open spaces, the dogs, the sunsets - there's something about the place that even a complete outsider like me can get drawn to. The interviews are spread out between all of the residents of the town, and everyone gets to voice their thoughts. The place, the story of the missing man, the people (their ongoing grudges and motives) - I feel this has everything needed for a neo-noir crime drama, at least on paper. It's predominantly Australian too - like, where else do you see folks candidly talk about murder while chugging beer, smoking, or laughing their butt off?

If you love Fargo (the film), you'll probably enjoy this as a real life whodunnit, with a wealth of eccentric Fargo-like characters, each and every one of them far stranger than fiction.

In a nutshell, this true story revolves around 11 people who are the sole inhabitants of a tiny villlage off the beaten track in northern Australia. Did I say 11? I mean 10. One of them has mysteriously disappeared, presumably murdered. You'd think with such a meagre population it wouldn't be too difficult to narrow down a suspect or two, right? Yeah, unless the potential murder victim had more than a few enemies among his ten-fold brethren.

To further complicate matters, the remaining ten don't like (any of) each other much either, and that's me putting it very mildly.

This 2 episode series is hard to compare with anything else, but I can say this: the individuals who tell the story - Larrimah's population, all of them potential suspects (and some cops from the nearest glimpse of civilization) - had me completely absorbed. There's lots to say about them, but it's hard to find the words, I assure you. And if you have yet to watch this, the less said the better.

This was quite a surprise and I found myself intrigued from beginning to end- a very quirky, frustrating, enigmatic tale of the murder of someone who may or may not have been a great Irish immigrant, may or may not have been a great neighbor, may or may not have been a pot-stirrer, and his dog (NO NOT THE DOG!!) neither of which deserved to be killed in cold blood for nothing in particular.

The residents are a menagerie of characters- some of which feel quite slimy- amongst them Fran and Owen, of which seem to be painted in an unflattering light yet they do absolutely nothing to help themselves fight the portrayal. They're both quite vitriolic and full of blame for all their problems on anyone but themselves. Then there's Karen and.her husband, but she seems to like the camera more than her husband. The name definitely seems to fit, as she epitomizes it in virtually every way possible.

So many people are castigated by the others, including a lot of whining, miserable miscreants who can't seem to find a way to keep a business afloat yet keep plenty busy with keeping the rumor mill running full steam, having no problem with tossing ridiculous accusations and nonsensical claims with absolutely no regard for the man who has been missing and presumed dead or those they happen to share a community with.

All that being said, it's a seemingly lighthearted and somewhat cheeky true crime documentary but never loses sight of the fact that an innocent man lost his life and has never been heard from again. It's a rather interesting story told in a fascinating way that's a fresh new way, so be prepared for every budding artist to now put their spin on this and fill the void with some of the insipid work the genre has seen since Jimmy Hoffa went for a walk.

This was great. They way the story is told, will keep you guessing. Guessing which side you're on. They cinematography is really well excecuted and the line up of real life characters is unbeliveable. A gem for the true crime audiences out there. But it also tells the tale of humans- humans with too much time on their hands, living in the middle of nowhere, drinking the day away, just being.

I kind of want to go visit the town now, that i feel like i know everybody there. Meet the colorful characters, have a beer, and talk about what REALLY happened that night Paddy went missing. Great, great documentary.