Bogan culture on our screens is nothing unusual, dating back to The Adventures Of Barry McKenzie right through to Fat Pizza, Housos, and their ilk. And now the ugly bogan stereotype raises its head again in Down Under, a politically incorrect black comedy set in the aftermath of the 2005 Cronulla Riots. This is very topical and timely, especially given the recent demonstrations and protests about Muslim immigration here in Australia. But often humour is the best way of tackling controversial and uncomfortable subject matter. One of the inspirations for the style of Down Under was Chris Morris’s Four Lions, a black comedy about four would be suicide bombers in London.
Two diverse groups of hotheads, fired up by a desire to wreak some retribution for the riots, head out looking for trouble. One group is led by the racist and heavily tattooed bogan Jason (Damon Herriman). He is accompanied by Ditch (Justin Rosniak), Ned Kelly’s biggest fan on the prowl for anyone looking vaguely middle eastern, and dope head Shit-Stick (Alexander England), who would rather watch Lord of the Rings with his cousin from Nimbi, Evan (Chris Bunton), who suffers from Down Syndrome.
Their mirror opposites are a group of Lebanese, led by the hothead Nick (Rahel Romahn, from The Principal). Accompanying him is the insufferable beat-boxer D-Mac (Fayssal Bazzi), the deeply religious Ibrahim (Michael Denkha). Nick has also managed to rope in the quiet, studious Hassin (Lincoln Younes, from TV series Home And Away), who is reluctant to participate.
Both groups are driven by a misguided rage, and they are unsure of whom they are even after. Comedy is an effective way of tackling controversial subject matter and so it is with Down Under. Forsythe shows a good eye for the humour of the situation and there some great moments of physical and visual humour here. Forsythe exposes the idiocy of mindless racism and violence here with a down beat ending.
Younes delivers a more sensitive performance that contrasts with the bombastic and over the top performances of the bulk of the cast. There is also a nice and subtle performance from Bunton, who, despite his Down Syndrome, seems to be the smartest one in the bunch. David Field is cast against type in a small role as a vicious homosexual meth-head and drug dealer.
Down Under is likely to polarise audiences as it addresses issues such as race, Australian stereotypes and the problems of our multicultural country.
Director: Abe Forsythe
Cast: Lincoln Younes, Justin Rosniak, Fayssal Bazzi, David Field
Release Date: 11 August 2016
Rating: MA 15+
Greg King
David Edwards is the editor of The Blurb and a contributor on film and television