IMDb RATING
5.4/10
1.5K
YOUR RATING
An Aboriginal boy is torn between his unexpected love of acting and the disintegration of his family.An Aboriginal boy is torn between his unexpected love of acting and the disintegration of his family.An Aboriginal boy is torn between his unexpected love of acting and the disintegration of his family.
- Awards
- 1 win total
Aaron L. McGrath
- Joseph
- (as Aaron McGrath)
Braydn Pittman
- Jason
- (as Braden Pittman)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
This is an infuriatingly hackneyed entry in the idealistic-teacher-saves-disadvantaged-students sub-genre. It desperately wants to be hip and socially relevant, but is relentlessly and embarrassingly dull. It's a classic example of what happens when film funding bodies like Screen Australia become preoccupied with ticking all the politically correct boxes. Aboriginal content and cast. Tick. Female writer and director. Double tick. Lead character tailored for an American star (however awkwardly). Tick. Story geared to a younger demographic. Tick. But none of these elements ever comes together, and the result is a lame mish-mash that attempts to sell us Aboriginal students energised by Shakespeare, Christina Ricci battling racism and exploring her sexuality, and a morally confused criminal sub-plot that weirdly shifts the focus from the central characters. To make matters worse, the depiction of inner-Sydney's Redfern - which is given an LA ghetto makeover (complete with burnt-out cars and fires in the streets) - is dishonest and laughable to anyone who actually knows it.
I'll admit I downloaded this based on the fact that Christina Ricci was the lead in it. To my surprise, it was the acting of the supporting cast that really led the way here. It is a very different character for Ricci, who has been sort of typecast as an oddball since her early Addams Family days. As a viewer, you are immediately taken in by the boy Liam who has secured the role of Hamlet in the school play. If you are a Shakespeare buff like I am, you will love the Hamlet plot lines and dynamics running throughout the film. You can see hints of that from the trailer but I didn't know just how central to the story Hamlet would be until I saw it for myself. It's a modern twist on an age-old tale, and with that, Around The Block is able to bring something new to the table.
Around The Block leans on a wide array of emotions and generates a lot of power from the relationships that the boy Liam has in his life, including the ones with his father, mother and brother. Because of the strength in those relationships, Around The Block runs so much deeper than the teacher-student relationship that the majority of the film is centered around. Hunter Page-Lochard's performance as Liam is quite simply a standout. I enjoy emotionally-charged movies and that's where this one will resonate with me. It is also a highly-stylized and vibrant film which makes it an enjoyable experience aesthetically. Despite the familiar setup, there are very interesting fault lines running under the surface of Around The Block.
Make no mistake - anyone who gives less than 6 to this film is prejudiced, whether they know it or not, or they are white Australians who do not want to accept that there other "Australias" within Australia.
If you watch this film with nothing other than curiosity as to where it will take you, you cannot help but be blown away by the simple power of this film.
Kudos to the screenplay, kudos to the director, kudos to the obvious off-the-cuff but first class acting, particularly in the prison scenes and the first rehearsal, and kudos for putting it all together as if you are watching Life rather than a film.
It is a film with so many stories : Liam's of course, but, also, his mother's story, his teacher's story (Christina Ricci), his brother's story, his school's story, the gubba teacher's story, his brother's story, and last but not least, his father's story. All of these stories grab you by the throat but you have to not be prejudiced to "see" all those stories.
A brilliant film.
If you watch this film with nothing other than curiosity as to where it will take you, you cannot help but be blown away by the simple power of this film.
Kudos to the screenplay, kudos to the director, kudos to the obvious off-the-cuff but first class acting, particularly in the prison scenes and the first rehearsal, and kudos for putting it all together as if you are watching Life rather than a film.
It is a film with so many stories : Liam's of course, but, also, his mother's story, his teacher's story (Christina Ricci), his brother's story, his school's story, the gubba teacher's story, his brother's story, and last but not least, his father's story. All of these stories grab you by the throat but you have to not be prejudiced to "see" all those stories.
A brilliant film.
Awesome movie I reckon. It has a wonderful story and great acting and it's way better than that show the block because it doesn't have that stupid foreman Keith and that massive dick Scott Scotty cam.
Did you know
- TriviaRuby Rose told the Daily Mail in 2018 that she was very nervous when she got the part, not just because it was her first film role, but that she would be naked and having sex with movie icon Christina Ricci. Playing the role of Hannah, Ruby, who was 27 at the time, was tasked with being the "dominant" of the pair and said at the time she was blindsided by the fact that she'd be acting opposite Christina, who is six years older than her and a Hollywood veteran in comparison. "I thought it would be awkward and I was not looking forward to it. You know, being alongside Christina Ricci, who has been a famous actress since she was born, pretty much. I remember her as Wednesday in The Addams Family and [in] Casper. So I was sort of spun out on the idea of having to be this dominating person in a role with her, but she is a pro." When asked what she thought of the reaction to her role in the film, Rose said people were freaked. "No one knew what my role was, but then the trailer came out and there is the sex scene so everyone is like, 'Oh my god, you're naked, having sex with Christina Ricci!'"
- Quotes
[last lines]
Dino Chalmers: [narrating] We don't choose to be born, but we choose to live. Some of us choose to love.
Chrissie Wood: Liam! Liam!
Dino Chalmers: And some of us, only some of us, choose to be free.
Chrissie Wood: [as he is put into police car] Liam!
Uncle Rex: He'll be back, mama.
- SoundtracksJust To Feel Wanted
Written by Brendan Tuckerman (as B Tuckerman)
Performed by Brendan Tuckerman (as Tuka)
© Source Music Pty Ltd
Licensed courtesy of Source Music Pty Ltd
- How long is Around the Block?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Runtime
- 1h 44m(104 min)
- Color
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content