Dirty Deeds

Review by James Anthony

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Dirty Deeds - not to be confused with Mr Deeds - is a thoroughly enjoyable tale of a Sydney small-g gangster and his exceptionally profitable business of poker machines.

Barry (Bryan Brown) is the top dog in Sin City and his gang, plus a corrupt copper (Sam Neill), are doing a roaring trade stealing coins from the money spinners.

However, the Sydney of the 1960s is proving quite attractive to the American mafia and they send out a couple of goodguys Tony (John Goodman) and Sal (Felix Williamson) to try to muscle in on the pokies business.

Unfortunately for the Americans, Barry is not interested in changing jobs - or his style - and so Tony sets out on a course to win him around. Sal, however, just wants to kill him and take over the city.

That's about it for 'revealable' plot, however Dirty Deeds is a nicely crafted Snatch-style movie that has some terrific character performances from its cast.

Brown is in his element as Barry, the hard man who loves his wife, kid and likes his mistress a lot.

Toni Collette plays his wife Sharon and I rate this as her best performance in anything I have seen. She commands the screen and steals scenes all over the place.

John Goodman is excellent as the key mafioso and brings a tired worldliness to the role.

The video transfer for Dirty Deeds is excellent and the sound - boosted by a sensational choice of music for the soundtrack - is first-rate.

If you liked Snatch or Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels then Dirty Deeds will suit you fine.

Conclusion: 85% Extras: 70%

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