Good For Nothing: Movie Review

Good For Nothing: Movie Review


Cast: Cohen Holloway, Inge Rademeyer
Director: Mike Wallis

Westerns in New Zealand?

Has the world gone mad?

Actually, not really. This latest film from the genre follows on the heels of last year's production of Netherwood and is the most current attempt to showcase the very best of our countryside (outside of the work done by Peter Jackson for Lord of the Rings).

Cohen Holloway plans "The Man" in this - he kidnaps an English woman (played by newcomer Inge Rademeyer) who's immigrating out west. However, when the Man tries to take advantage of the woman, he's unable to perform and is thrown into a case of confusion and self doubt, which fuels his quest for some kind of medicine to help his performance issues.

But when The Man rescues the woman from successive captors, he sets in motion a chain of events which sees a posse out to hunt them both down....

Good For Nothing is a novel approach on the western genre, which is beautifully captured thanks to the rugged terrain of the South Island. In all honesty, I'd never considered the wilds of Central Otago doubling for the Wild West, but having seen what first time director Mike Wallis has brought to the table, I'll be very surprised if they're not used again.

Wallis has also brought some Western sensibilities with him - it's clearly a genre he knows and reveres, as is evidenced by the kind of shots he shoots within the film. From close ups of eyes to the murky lighting inside, from some truly stunning landscape shots to the showdowns, this is a film which respects the Western and does everything to emulate it.

Even down to Holloway's acting - minimal and trying to recall Clint Eastwood's Man with no name, the first words he utters don't come until some 15 mins into the film, where he tells a doctor: "Doc, my dick's broke."

Rademeyer makes a reasonable debut, but to be honest, dialogue and major exposition (as well as a major story) are not a key part to this film; granted, it's more about the mood and tone, which is western through and through, from its grittiness to its look, Good For Nothing is an intriguing success on that front.

All in all, while not quite emulating the best westerns ever, Good For Nothing is a good solid Spaghetti Western start for Wallis and really does open the eyes to what else NZ can offer the outside cinematic world in terms of landscapes.

Offbeat, quirky and a little different, Good For Nothing shows promise; with just a little more depth of story, it could have been truly magnificent.

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