True History of the Kelly Gang

Starring: George MacKay, Essie Davis, Russell Crowe, Thomasin McKenzie, Charlie Hunnam, Nicholas Hoult, Orlando Schwerdt
Director: Justin Kurzel
Based on the novel "True History of the Kelly Gang" by Peter Carey
The "true" story of how Ned Kelly became Australia's most legendary and famous outlaw. The film starts with a young New Kelly (Orlando Schwerdt), when his promiscuous mother Ellen (Essie Davis) angers the slimy Sgt. O'Neil (Charlie Hunnam) which results in this father Red being thrown in prison. To make ends meet, his mother sells him to Harry Power (Russell Crowe) as an apprentice to learn about the world. Harry teaches him not only how to kill but even tries to force him to get revenge on Sgt. O'Neil, which lands him in prison. Once released as an adult (George MacKay), Kelly returns home to find his mother ready to be married to another man and that his young brothers have now fallen in with a group of crossdressing criminals. Filled with bitterness despite finding Mary (Thomasin McKenzie), the love of his life, Kelly recruits the criminals to help him wreak havoc on the world. This puts Ned and his gang in the sights of former friend Constable Fitzpatrick (Nicholas Hoult) who will stop at nothing to bring the gang down.
This is a wild movie that tries to cram as much story into its two hour runtime as it can. I condensed a lot of details and even the above description feels congested. And despite its claim as being a true story, from what I understand the novel it is based on is fictionalized.
In trying to bring as much information about the famous outlaw to the screen as possible, the film gets too bogged down in its details to be a completely absorbing experience. There are many aspects that work, Russell Crowe's brief appearance and the climactic gun fight to name a few. But there are so many characters, some important and some not, that make an appearance that I forgot how we got to certain plot points. There is also a darkness that hangs over the entire movie that kept me at an arms length the entire time. It's good that the film didn't shy away from that but it gets heavy.
Even if I wasn't completely involved in the plot, there was plenty of eye popping cinematography to keep me entertained. Director Kurzel and cinematographer Ari Wegner created a gorgeous looking film, making choices like turning gnarled trees in the background into something sinister.
The acting across the board is excellent. George MacKay, who honestly should have been nominated for his stellar work in 1917, continues to be a major talent on the rise. His Ned is absolutely unhinged and it really is an attention grabbing performance. Essie Davis, best known as the mother from The Babadook, is all over the place as Ned's mother and I mean that in the best way possible. She goes from a protective and caring mother to one that is willing to sell her own child in no time. You really never know how she is going to react at any given moment. And despite having maybe 20 minutes of screen time, Russell Crowe steals the movie as Harry Power and reminds us that he is an incredibly talented actor when given material for him to sink his teeth into. His outward humor hides the devil beneath and his presence is missed once he exits. I do wish they have given Thomasin McKenzie more to do in the film, as she turns up more than halfway through. Her performance isn't bad, but I would have hoped for a larger role after her stellar turns in Leave No Trace and JoJo Rabbit.
Despite being well made and featuring a powerhouse cast, this biopic loses steam due to trying to accomplish too much.
Grade: B-
True History of the Kelly Gang is available on VOD