The Hard Word Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
All It Takes Is A Little Persuasion
In a word, they're gone.
Three fraternal bank robbers languishing in jail, discover a profitable (if not dodgy) way to spend their time. Crime can most certainly pay, if you "know wot I mean?" However when sex and greed rear-up between the good crims and the bad cops, the consequences are both bizarre and fatal.
| Guy Pearce | Dale |
| Rachel Griffiths | Carol |
| Robert Taylor | Frank |
| Joel Edgerton | Shane |
| Damien Richardson | Mal |
| Rhondda Findleton | Jane |
| Kate Atkinson | Pamela |
| Vince Colosimo | Kelly |
| Paul Sonkkila | O'Riordan |
| Kym Gyngell | Paul |
| Dorian Nkono | Tarzan |
| Stephen Whittaker | Rawson |
| Torquil Neilson | Mick |
| Don Bridges | Doug |
| Doug Bowles | Bill |
| Scott Roberts |
6.00 out of 10 (1255 votes)
Visitor Reviews
derivative crime drama
posted on 19 Jun 2009The Australian film, `The Hard Word,' is little more than a wan cross between `The Usual Suspects' and `Oceans 11.' In it, Guy Pearce, almost unrecognizable beneath a scraggly beard, plays one of four criminals discharged from prison in order to help mastermind a heist at the famed Melbourne Cup horse race. There's very little that's original or new in this film, with all the generic cliches falling dutifully into place: the release from prison, the inevitable double crosses, the unfaithful wife, the trigger-happy outsider who almost bungles the entire operation with his impetuosity and brashness, and the innocent bystander who, sensing the excitement of life on the dark side, helps the robbers with their getaway. Surprisingly little time is spent on the planning and execution of the heist, and an inordinate amount on getting the men out of prison (they get out once and then, inexplicably for plot purposes, get sent back in again). The performers are good, but their thick Australian accents make much of the dialogue virtually incomprehensible (for non-Aussies that is). That doesn't do much to enhance the clarity of the film. The real problem with `The Hard Word,' though, is that we've seen it all countless times before, only better.
If you loved Chopper...
posted on 26 May 2009Stellar performances from Guy Pierce (thankfully redeeming himself here after Time Machine) and Joel Edgerton - (best known for playing lovable Will on the TV show Secret Life of Us).It's a smart, funny movie that keeps the action moving along at a satisfyingly snappy pace. However, the ending is somewhat disjointed and throughout the film you get the feeling that Scott Roberts had lots of good scenes in his head (and they ARE good) that he wanted to put on screen, but that they don't necessarily all work together.Nonetheless it's a highly enjoyable movie in the Chopperesque genre of darkly funny gritty dramas that Australia is beginning to earn a well-deserved reputation for.
Heist Movie Down Under
posted on 28 Oct 2008"The Hard Word" is a gritty, sexy, Australian take on the double-crossing heist movie. We get to hear Guy Pearce (long-haired and greasy) and Rachel Griffiths (blonde and wet) go native in their accents in an entertainingly original script by first-time director Scott Roberts. While not the first film to have quirky brothers-in-crime as the comfortable loyalty fulcrum, the familial psychological pathologies make for a nice counterpoint to the friends', foes', and femme fatale's twists and turns.
There's more jokes and ironic humor than even the violence, which helps to block out some quizzical plot turns. The movie never tells us that the title is Ozzie slang, among other blunt phrases used throughout (such as the tendency of Ozzie blokes to affectionately call each other the "c" word). My Down Under friend Bronwyn translates (used with her permission): "In it's 'ultimate' usage it means to pressure someone for sex. If you were talking to a girlfriend who went out on a date with someone new, you might ask 'did he put the hard word on?'
However, it is sometimes also used just in a general sense of exerting pressure. In fact, it was in a headline in our local suburban paper ("The Leader") yesterday: 'Minister puts the hard word on district pollies [politicians].' An article about the State Minister for Local Government pushing the local councils to sort out boundary reforms."
Down Underworld noir thriller
posted on 22 Oct 2008'The Hard Word' is an excellent, well-paced Australian movie, straddling the genres of the American noir caper film and the British thick-ear crime drama. Some of the sequences in this movie remind me of scenes in 'The Asphalt Jungle', 'The Killing', 'La Jetee', the Peter Sellers comedy 'Two-Way Stretch' and even 'Eating Raoul' ... but 'The Hard Word' is definitely a one-off original, and it's very good.The early scenes in this film take place in the Australian prison system. I've done some prison time Down Under (in my original name, before I changed it), and I found these scenes extremely realistic. Seppos and Poms (Yanks and Brits) will have difficulty understanding the Strine slang in this movie; for instance, when an inmate shouts 'Half yer (expletive) luck!', it's not instantly clear to non-Australians that this means 'I wish I was half as lucky as you.' Also, American audiences will be confused by this movie's references to racetrack 'bookies'. In Australia (as in Britain, but unlike in the States), bookies are lawful businessmen ('turf accountants') who privately take bets at sporting events, as independent contractors.And most confusing of all for audiences outside Australia: some of the dialogue in 'The Hard Word' is spoken in 'butcher talk'. This is never explained in the movie, so I'll reveal that butcher talk (or 'rehctub klat') is the dialect used by (real-life) Australian criminals for covert conversations in public ... in which every word is spoken BACKWARDS, very rapidly. Even if you know the secret, you won't understand a conversation in 'butcher' unless you've practised a lot. (In Britain, criminals have a gimmick called 'backslang' which is a simpler version of the same thing.) Several times in 'The Hard Word', the dialogue is brilliantly ambiguous, carrying two meanings at the same go.Three felons are released on the same day: violent Dale, easy-going Malcolm and Pepsi-swilling mother-obsessed Shane. (The dialogue identifies them as brothers; they don't look remotely alike, but that line explains why they stick together no matter what.) As soon as they get out, our lads participate in an armoured-car robbery that's been set up by their crooked lawyer Frank ... but Frank might be setting them up for a fall. And while the lads were 'inside', Frank has been having a go with Dale's sexy wife Carol. Rachel Griffiths, who plays Dale's wife, is not conventionally beautiful ... but in this film she gives one of the sexiest performances I've ever seen on screen.SLIGHT SPOILERS COMING. There are some eye-catching frame compositions in this film; all credit to director/scripter Scott Roberts. But several pieces of business seem to be set up only to create odd images on screen. A rival gangster lures Dale into a trap by disguising himself as Dale's wife and then hiding in their bed with a gun; I found this wildly unlikely. Frank kills another gangster by cramming a lava lamp into his mouth: no blood, no broken teeth; just an interesting visual composition. One long sequence takes place inside a restaurant shaped like a giant cow.An actor named Robert Taylor (doesn't he know that this name's been used before?) is very good as Frank, the brothers' crooked lawyer. Frank dies a horrible death. How to get rid of the corpse? We know that Malcolm is handy with a sausage-grinder, and in the next scene we see him grilling some FRANK-furters on the barbie. That pun is no coincidence. (Damien Richardson is a revelation as Malcolm.)On several occasions, the crooks jeopardise their own well-planned caper by brawling or arguing; I found this a very accurate depiction of criminal behaviour. Yet there's one very implausible plot twist during the robbery at the Melbourne Cup, when Shane is supposed to open a locked door by typing a 4-figure number into a numeric keypad ... but a henchman named Tarzan insists on doing it himself, even though he's dyslexic. Doesn't Tarzan realise that his dyslexia disqualifies him from this job? Sure enough, he mucks it up.During the caper sequences, I kept expecting to see the cliché shot from every caper film ... when a swag-bag rips open, and banknotes go flying in all directions. Blessedly, that hackneyed image never came. For most of its length, 'The Hard Word' commendably avoids clichés. I thought Rhondda Findleton quite sexy as an anger-management counsellor with a semi-Louise Brooks hairbob, but I was annoyed when her character became that prison-movie cliché: the sexy female prison staffer who goes home every night and can get any man she wants on the outside, yet who becomes sexually involved with one of the inmates a few minutes after she meets him! I couldn't believe that this woman would be having sex with Shane ... it would have been much more plausible if she had merely **led him on**, arousing herself with his sexual frustration while offering him no release.At the very end of this flick, the three brothers and Carol are striding purposefully towards the camera. 'Please', I thought, 'please do NOT commit that horrible cliché of freeze-framing the final shot.' Instead of a freeze-frame, the final image went into a slo-mo ... which is also a cliché, but not quite so hackneyed yet. Despite a few complaints, I'm vastly impressed with this highly entertaining movie. I'll rate 'The Hard Word' 8 points out of 10. Nice one, cobber!
Yes, the Aussies can also make rotten movies.
posted on 11 May 2008This atrocious film shows that untalented hustlers can also get their films made in Australia. Some SPOILER comments intertwined: From the incomprehensible opening having to do with three cons being sprung (by prison officials?) to pull a heist, to the heist itself, shown as a precision job that probably couldn't have been pulled off EVEN with day-by-day, month-by-month practice......something the incarcerated guys couldn't have done.......to the mostly un-understandable language used; the director sub-titled prison argot, which was a good idea, should have sub-titled most of the rest of the movie. Where shall I go from here; too much to choose from. But the scene where on the first day of being back in the joint, one of the brother gang members invades the private space of a prison shrink......and then begins an (ultimate) successful seduction......to the "comic" third brother, who falls deeply in love with a woman casually chosen on the street for a carjacking, this movie virtually always makes the wrong, non-logical, non-real and non-believable way of telling a story. Oh yes, for those of you who pick up a movie's press kit and are told that a movie is an "action/ comedy", the using of the word "comedy" isn't supposed to do the job of making you smile or laugh. One needs humorous scenes or funny moments to meet that description. I'm limited to a thousand words and could take this film apart, almost scene by scene but let me add the following: there are more than several key scenes where results happen that are never explained (more SPOILER): How did the corrupt lawyer possibly figure out where the stolen $10 million was hidden but since he was apparently the one who stole it why would he then, six months later, track down the three brothers and threaten them with prison if they didn't go after a huge heist? Since he tried to have them murdered previously, what kind of schmuck would be so out of it to approach the would-be victims? Awful, awful movie.
Good for a "heist" film
posted on 05 Apr 2008This was a really enjoyable film. While it may not have had the most original script, it certainly shines when compared to other, much more lackluster, heist films. I enjoyed this from start to finish and did not find it as formulaic and predictable as many other films in the genre. It's sort of like an Australian version of the film "Confidence," only with better acting and more interesting characters. Guy Pearce throws himself into the role and does not waver.Even when the focus is on another actor his presence commands the attention of the audience. Few actors are as skilled in stealing a scene without ever saying a word. The female characters are rather one dimensional, but it's a detail that's easily overlooked as they are not the central focus. Definitely worth a visit to the video store.
Watchable
posted on 30 Jan 2008Australia have produced some of the best movies since the 70s.Three prison mates are released and rob bookies' takings.Featuring a scene where Griffiths smears a drawing of a face on glass - not Very Annie Mary! Her scenes with her lover stray into soap opera. The final scenes are forced. Yet another movie full of dislikeable characters. There was another Australian movie a few years ago concerning three tough brothers (it might have been in black and white). The best scene was with the sexy anger management therapist. But a lot of the scenes resembled ones other films. Still, good location views of Australia."The Hard Word" is a good blokes' movie.
Where have we seen this film before,?
posted on 16 Oct 2007I am glad that there were sub-titles available for this Australian heist & chase film, as the accents nearly made it hard to understand the dialog.Guy Pierce & Rachel Griffisth are the stars & they do well.Joel Edgerton, Damien Richardson & Robert Taylor are on hand as well & they too do a fine job,.However, we have seen this tale ( 3 likable Brothers are released from prison---one of their wives is sleeping with their lawyer,) We have seen variations of this too many times to be taken in,.. There are heists, chases, double crosses romances etc..The settings are locations (some very beautiful) in the Sydney & Melbourne area,Even though the story is familiar, It is too convoluted to sustain much interest.Ratings **1/2 (out of 4) 71 points (out of 100) IMDb 6 (out of 10)
Hard and fast -- but maybe not fast enough
posted on 30 Sep 2007The Hard Word introduces us to Dale, Shane, and Mal Twentyman, three brothers Down Under and all in the same jail. Through their crooked lawyer Frank (Robert Taylor) they all get released the same day to do a heist the lawyer has arranged for them. They succeed, but then get thrown back in jail again, with the lawyer keeping the swag. He's also got Dale's (Guy Pearce's) wife. The gall of this Frank! Why do they put up with this?The wife, Carol, played by Six Feet Under's Rachel Griffiths, would be great if she didn't look so much like Laura Dern played by a man in drag: but she's hard all right. The wonderfully lean Pearce, happy, it would be seem, to be working back home (and none too concerned if the job has some rough edges) plays with a grungy panache that's smooth and understated. He and the actors playing his brothers Shane (Joel Edgerton) and Mal (Damien Richardson) are all plainly having a lot of fun, which viewers can't help but share. It's not really about verisimilitude so much as it's about that fun, and the surprise twists, and secret language among intimates. You don't remember that first heist, though you may remember how bloody the next one gets when it goes wrong, how spectacularly bold the setting is (the Melbourne Cup award celebration) and the cow museum where the swag gets hidden. But the continuity and suspense are not strong elements, if indeed they exist. The standout moments are just that – moments -- such as when the three first get out and order a meal and the powerful and rage-prone Shane has a fit because his fries are curled instead of straight and he's given a Coke instead of a Pepsi; or when the same Shane gets a lady counselor for his anger problem and makes love to her in the jail reception room. That moment is priceless. You've rarely seen the rug chewed up with such zest. Edgerton overacts outrageously, but he makes it a lot of fun to watch. Brother Mal is a butcher practicing his trade in prison, and that leads to some fairly crude running jokes, to coin a phrase. He's shy, but women fall all over him. Pearce, as mentioned, is all sly knowingness and appealing leonine sleaze and that makes him an appealing contrast to his brothers and sets him up clearly as the brain of the family. But somehow the screenplay doesn't quite let him have a fully realized character, perhaps because for all his smarts he lets the three of them be walked over by Frank and Carol. (Carol does, however, prove loyal at the end. And Frank does, indeed, have a fitting fate.)This movie has many enjoyable moments. But as this description already shows, it's a collection of riffs rather than a coherent whole; for all the juicy dialogue and colorful characterizations and quirky scenes, it doesn't have enough momentum, excitement, or suspense going for it for a crime story.And when you think about it, none of it makes much sense. How could the three crooks get out of jail to do that job, and then land right back in?
If they're such competent robbers that they can take all the winnings of the Melbourne Cup even when an unnecessary sadistic accomplice (`Tarzan,' Dorian Nkono) makes the scene go horribly wrong and totally violates their motto, `Nobody gets hurt,' why would they let Frank screw them over and over? And how indeed could they have even begun to rob the Melbourne Cup with such minimal preparation? The authorities are alerted, and they flee on foot: how is it that they get away with huge trash bags full of cash? And how come the three brothers wind up running a resort hideaway if Frank later picked up the swag? And finally, how could Frank come and propose another, bigger job after double-crossing them twice big time?After his successful international choices, notably LA Confidential and Memento, I guess Guy Pearce though he'd enjoy doing something lower keyed back home. And he did. And he didn't make too bad a choice. But he didn't hit it lucky, either. This will appeal to Guy Ritchie fans. It will also awaken memories of Fifties and Sixties English crime movies. Robert Taylor as Frank makes a B Picture bad guy with a fake tan and generic suits.
Slick yet Gritty
posted on 20 Jun 2007I gave it a ten to drive up the average (though I don't believe thereare many ten movies out there).This is a cool, smooth movie, slick as Ocean's Eleven but not asglossy. Guy Pearce is merely great and how come that girl isn't sopretty but it works? She looks so much like Juliette Lewis it'suncanny. Not quite in the same league acting wise, but hey, this isAustralia. Where, by the way, the cops must be so stupid cuz thiscrew leaves dead bodies, including cops bodies, all over theirhomes and no one catches up to them. What is the hard word? Love? Or murder? You be the judge.
Mediocre Film. Poor script.. Doesn't know where it's going !
posted on 21 May 2007Summary:Script: Very poor. Plot doesn't know where it's going; proves uneventful.Cast: Wonderful cast, but they are wasted in this travesty of a film.Verdict: I resented wasting $12.80 on this piece of garbage. The only good news was it was probably the pick of the films I saw that weekend. It was better than the Mothman Prophecies, and Kikujuro was so sickly sachharin I was almost spewing in the aisle.I know, we're told to go along, and are encouraged to support the Australian film industry, but with films like The Hard Word coming out, every now and then, I think we shouldn't have a film industry. Thank god for films like Lantana and Alibrandi, which are films which prove we have at least some good directors and actors in Australia, still.
Aussie flick is hard to define...but at least it 's unpredictable...
posted on 05 Apr 2007My only reason for watching this is because I caught the tail end of it on cable and saw the ending before I saw the re-run of the film starring GUY PEARCE, an actor whom I liked in L.A. CONFIDENTIAL and MEMENTO. It's no more than an average crime caper movie but watchable enough to pass the time.It's one of those hard to define flicks about a trio of hoodlums (brothers, actually) who are exploited by a crooked lawyer and, in the end, decide to take revenge. That's the basic plot in a nutshell, with some equally corrupt cops thrown into the mix. But first time Aussie director Scott Roberts has taken some very far out material with lots of quirky potential and turned it into a fairly interesting heist film that moves swiftly toward a most unlikely ending. Along the way there are a lot of twists and turns--watch especially for the crucial scene where Pearce decides to take care of the corrupt lawyer all by himself until the unexpected happens.RACHEL GRIFFITHS is effectively cunning as Pearce's blonde and trashy wife, and JOEL EDGERTON has fun with his role as the wildest brother who is most brazen about his prison behavior with a counselor. A guy by the name of ROBERT TAYLOR is apparently unaware of his moniker's use by an already famous classic star.With a serious/comic flavor, it starts out promisingly but turns into an average thriller aided and abetted by an upbeat musical score.Warning: Lots of profanity, sexual doings and coarse lingo make it unacceptable for the kiddies. A major flaw are the heavy Australian accents which blur much of the dialog.
from under a big nose
posted on 21 Jan 2007Tough and profane, THE HARD WORD is a nasty little gem filmed in Australia during the criminal caper comedy run of production themes from 1999-2003. Like DIRTY DEEDS the same year, it was harshly judged and slid at the box office, but on a big screen it was quite enjoyable in its deliberately mean way. With an excellent cast including Guy Pearce and Rachel Griffiths, it also features a hugely silly putty nose stuck on Pearce's face. God knows why. Also in the cast are two of Australia's best character actors... the gorgeous Rhondda Findleton (see her also in LOVE IN LIMBO) and the adorable hilarious Torquil Neilson (from the equally maligned farce LET'S GET SKASE). Both these support actors would be big stars if on TV overseas but they just never get big release parts here in Australia... bit like the superb he man Jack Campbell from THE NOSTRDAMUS KID and charming Nicolas Beaumont. THE GUARDIAN star from TV Simon Baker ( of L.A. Confidential)seems to have taken all the roles for these guys in one career. THE HARD WORD is a wannabee heist caper with some nasty behavior. Sam Genocchio's 2004 micro budget crime calamity GET RICH QUICK also attempted the same Aussie genre with genuinely disgusting and hilarious results. Wait until you see how Rachel Griffiths greets Guy Pearce peering at her from behind the glass prison visiting room window in THE HARD WORD.... I hope she wasn't sitting next to her Mum at the premiere for that scene to unfold. Rachel! what a thing to agree to be photographed doing with that smile on your face! John Waters would have been thrilled.
disapointed
posted on 20 Nov 2006I was kinda disappointed in this movie,I though that Guy Pearce,that usually does good in movies(Memento,Count of Monte Cristo,Time Machine)would be able to save this one.but sadly it was to far gone even for him.seems like it was poorly edited or just quickly slapped together.
Lock Stock and Aussie?
posted on 14 Aug 2006Big time Hollywood star Guy Pearce returns to his old stomping grounds in Australia to headline crime thriller The Hard Word. Straight out of the pages of a Robert G Barrett or Gary Disher novel, The Hard Word has plenty of p(l)ot holes, making for an occasionally bumpy ride. But it does the job as a gritty Australian crime story. Also owes something to the direction of Guy Ritchie as several times I felt like I was watching an Australian version of Lock Stock. Pearce heads a trio of bank robbing brothers stuck in jail, waiting to be released by their employers – high profile members of the police force and their lawyer. Upon their release they become involved in a new scam, developed by their crooked lawyer, which could make them very rich. The old criminal traps of sex and greed rear their head however, producing a cataclysmic reaction. Joining Pearce in a quality Australian cast are Golden Globe winner Rachel Griffiths, Joel Edgerton (The Secret Life of Us), Damien Richardson, Vince Colosimo and Kym Gyngell. The real beauty of this film is that it' obviously Australian. So many Aussie films these days pander to the American market by reducing the Australian identity. However, in The Hard Word we see the back streets of Melbourne and Sydney, the tarmac entrances to the cities and even our nation's obsession with big objects gets a run.
There's been no attempt to make the cities and other backdrops more glamorous and therefore less identifiably Australian.
The crims in this film live on the edge of their seats, like real criminals everywhere. They are hard men, but with personalities like you and me. Not like the characters we are served in American movies who drive around in flash vehicles, live in mansions and take great delight in getting involved in car chases with police. These guys live in the shade, avoiding confrontation and identification where able. It is this respect for Australia and the determination of the film makers to give The Hard Way some substantive local grit that makes it a successful film, proving that not all Australian movies have to be quirky. Weekly recommended movie: Two Hands (1999) starring Heath Ledger, Bryan Brown, Rose Byrne and Tom Long. If you loved The Hard Word, then this is certainly the movie for you.
Not what you'd expect
posted on 08 Apr 2006If you watch The Hard Word expecting yet another heist/caper flick in the vein of The Bank Job, you're going to be frustrated. At first, the film feels like it's all setup, with no payoff. Then you realize: this IS the film. It's not about some sort of grandiose criminal scheme. It's about these *people,* and their very individual outlook on life. And on that basis, it's really quite brilliant.The three brothers each have their own peculiar point of view. There's the tough guy (Pearce), the oddball (who strikes up an out-of-the-blue love affair with his prison counselor), and the soulful butcher (who gleefully slaughters pigs, but wouldn't hurt a fly). Then there's Frank: the criminal jerk who just can't seen anything but the next big score, and thinks he can manipulate everyone. And, right in the middle, Rachel Griffiths' character -- a somewhat unwilling and perhaps incompetent femme fatale.There's plenty of action in the film, including a climactic heist, but these events are surprisingly low-key. The movie isn't about who gets away with how much. It's just as much about blood sausage, and unusual uses for a lava lamp, and sticking things in a cow, and a dyslexic hit-man... a whole string of strange events that might have been enough for several movies.I found myself puzzled by the film at first, then swept along by its endless stream of remarkable occurrences. And, in the end, I became absolutely enchanted by the three incorrigible brothers, and their optimistic motto: "Nobody gets hurt." The ending, when it arrived, was exactly what I was by then hoping it would be. It left me with a big grin that took hours to wear off.Don't go into this expecting a down under version of Ocean's 11. This is much more like The Ice Harvest, or Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead -- a sort of existentialist film noir fable. And a pure delight, provided you're in a receptive frame of mind.
A great laugh, thoroughly enjoyable, brilliant aussie film!!
posted on 11 Dec 2005The great cast that make up this film, keep it moving along at a very nice pace. Guy Pearce and Joel Edgerton gave great performances. It was nice to see Guy in an australian film again. It's been a while. Shot in both Sydney and Melbourne, it was nice to see a film shot partly in Sydney, that didn't over use the popular landmarks. Very humorous, and some great one liners. If you liked "Two Hands" you will love this movie.
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The "Hard" to watch movie!
posted on 18 Aug 2009What is Guy Pearce thinking? This guy has a ton of talent and has made two memorable films (LA Confidential, Memento). However, he continues to waste his time with these types of stories and people start to forget who he is. I count myself as a huge fan of Mr. Pearce and I was one of about five people in the theater to see this film on the first day. Well, I thought that I had stumbled on an A&E television series from Australia, because that is what I saw. This film is weak, the story is scattered and the performances are lost. It is an Australian copy of "Oceans Eleven" or some other lame American caper. Moreover, it ends so badly, you don't mind, because you want it to be over. Slick trailer and movie poster, but a boring waste of time for a movie.