The Square

Review by Anthony Morris
Exclusive Interview : Claire Van Der Boom - The Square

With a plot that ticks along like a fine Swiss watch, The Square is full-colour proof that a good movie starts and ends with its script. 

And The Square isn't just a good movie - it's a good Australian movie, which means that the aforementioned well-crafted script is devoted to keeping the audience both entertained and unable to look away for fear of missing out on what might happen next. 

It doesn't hurt that the story hits the ground running right from the first scene and never looks back: Raymond Yale (David Roberts) is a builder in a small country suburban who just happens to be having an affair with the young Carla (Clare Van Der Boom), the hairdresser girlfriend of a local bad egg. 

They both agree that if they're going to leave their respective partners they need a lot of money to do it: where they disagree is on how to get that money. 

He's quietly embezzling funds from the project he's overseeing, while she's noticed that her dodgy boyfriend has stashed a mysterious sports bag up in the ceiling - a sports bag that turns out to be full of cash. 

But getting the cash and getting away with the cash are two different things, and once Ray agrees to go along with his girlfriend's plan he finds himself on a slippery slope where every turn only makes things worse and the bodies are soon piling up... 

First-time feature director Nash Edgerton and his actor brother Joel (who co-wrote the script, and also plays an arsonist-for-hire) have put together a tight noir thriller packed with twists and without a moments' dead air. 

This is world-class storytelling, and the kind of film Australia should be making more - a lot more - of.

4 out of 5

The Square
Australian release: 31st July, 2008
Official Site: The Square
Cast: David Roberts, Claire van der Boom, Joel Edgerton, Anthony Hayes
Director: Nash Edgerton