Felony

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!

"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.

A tightly wound crime drama that oozes class, this Sydney-set motion picture follows on from These Final Hours and Predestination to continue the stellar run for Australian movies in 2014. With an intelligent and slow burning screenplay by Joel Edgerton, Felony deals with one morally murky question: what price should a good person pay for making one bad mistake? Those hoping for a whodunit will be disappointed; the tension is built through a very precise pace and layered character development rather than a complex plot or shock-factor twists and turns. That the characters are so intriguing and engrossing can be equally attributed to the splendid actors on show. Edgerton leads the way as the respected detective, family man and all round top bloke who is forced to deal with a personally complicated situation, and he delivers an almighty performance with nuance and gravitas. He's not the only one though: Jai Courtney takes a break from hard-arse supporting gigs (Jack Reacher, A Good Day to Die Hard) to bring heft and subtlety to his new cop on the block role, whilst veteran Tom Wilkinson relishes his chance to portray the experienced department head who has misplaced old-school values. A special mention also needs to go out to Bryony Marks, whose moody score is utterly sensational and brings emotion all on its own. Due to a limited release it's unlikely you will be able to catch this on the big screen, but to the top of you 'to see' DVD list this should go.

The movie stars a trio of top male actors in splendid roles, so that the intricate and very intimate "Felony" is a police story crossed with a strong psychological drama. Three very different Australian detectives, each one determined to do the right thing, are supposed to decide how to define justice in one specific case and must choose what lines can be crossed and what price may be paid as to achieve it. Director Matthew Saville has perfectly constructed a low-key and realistic drama. These kinds of moral decisions and subjects always end up making involving films, especially when the key performers are as good as Tom Wilkinson, Joel Edgerton and Jai Courtney. Working on a perfect screenplay by Edgerton, the director Matthew Saville has expertly constructed an extremely realistic drama where the malleability of morality in an increasingly difficult situation takes center stage.