The final winter
Watched this movie last night.
Filmed in 2006, released in 2007, just came on DVD this week.
It’s a movie about a rugby league football player for Newtown Jets back in the 80′s when league was transforming from the amateurish hardman’s game to the corporate marketing game of today.
It’s not so much about league than it is about the characters. The movie could’ve probably worked with any football code… In a nut shell: this is about what happens to a man who has to give away the game because his body is falling apart, the game is changing, and his family is suffering… But his whole identity and ambition is wrapped up in the game of rugby league.
It’s an interesting journey to see how he handles it.
Overall I liked this film (not just because it was filmed down the road at Henson Park). The character stories fascinated me, maybe because of my footy background and the honest portrayal of the locker room and footy culture. Some of the scenes are not as well acted as they could’ve been, but they’re good enough and maybe Matty Johns wasn’t the best cast for the coach – not because of his acting (that was pretty good) but because he didn’t really look old enough.
Go see it. Worth the rental. Good Aussie film.