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Their reputation as excellent men with cues gets them chosen
by the mysterious "Daddy" to enter an underground pool competition,
the trio embark on a very entertaining series of misadventures
that see their lives thrown into even more chaos than usual.
Backed by a financially strapped mate Dave, who owns their
local pool bar, the guys begin the cut-throat competition
against a crowd of unlikely and nicely charactered opponents.
The winners get a gentle $20,000 prize, while the losers get
extreme trouble if they can't pay a rather major - an unexpected
- entry fee.
Along the way there's true romance, lots of laughs and some
well introduced and built tension.
Filmed along the lines of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,
Stickmen is a series of connected chapters that follow the
guys, the competition, their opponents, female interests and
"Daddy".
Good acting, good music, excellent photography and a very
engaging storyline make Stickmen a must-see movie.
The characters - both our lads and the shadier types - are
very nicely drawn and have you believing it is a slice of
life, albeit a slightly on the fringe one, you happen to be
watching.
Dave is a terrific role played in a very understated way by
John Leigh and looks like a very unbusinesslike ex-surfer.
Three other roles stand out - those of Sara (Anne Nordhaus),
Daddy (Enrico Mammarella) and Holden (Kirk Torrance).
Sara is the mysterious, but nice, new love interest with Thomas
and does extremely well with a difficult part.
Enrico Mammarella is delightfully savage as Daddy and you
will be holding your breath as he shaves Dave.
Holden is the linkman of the movie, introducing each chapter
with an insight into how pool mirrors the real world and is
a metaphor for life. He is also a mob enforcer who looks after
the guys he likes. Torrance has him as an almost poet-fighter
in the grubby underworld of NZ.
Stickmen may have its roots with Lock, Stock but adds a freshness
and antipodean charm that makes it a movie you just have to
get.
Conclusion: Movie 85%, Extras 80%
Continued:
DVD details at a glance >
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