{"id":502,"date":"2017-05-06T07:27:32","date_gmt":"2017-05-06T07:27:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/2017\/05\/06\/httptheblurb-com-aureviewstriple-9-movie-review\/"},"modified":"2017-05-06T07:27:32","modified_gmt":"2017-05-06T07:27:32","slug":"httptheblurb-com-aureviewstriple-9-movie-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/httptheblurb-com-aureviewstriple-9-movie-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Triple 9 – movie review"},"content":{"rendered":"

Urgent help needed – officer down. That’s the meaning behind the title of Triple 9<\/em>, a gritty crime thriller directed by Australian John Hillcoat (The Road<\/i>).<\/p>\n

\"Triple-9-01\"Set in Atlanta, Georgia the film concerns a cadre of criminals conspiring with crooked cops (as portrayed by the likes of Chiwetel Ejiofor and Anthony Mackie) to rob a bank and secure the contents of a safety deposit box. These are intended to secure freedom for a Russian mob boss currently held in captivity. In his absence the organisation is controlled by his ruthless wife, Irina (a Russian-Israeli played, complete with accent, by Kate Winslet, in a decidedly unusual role for her). Michael Atwood (Ejiofor), who used to be with Irina\u2019s sister Elena (Gal Gadot) and with whom he has a young son, was a former member of the Special Forces and is supposedly the brains behind the heist. But his strings are being well and truly pulled by Irina, who \u2013 even after the event hits an almighty snag \u2013 strong-arms Michael into conducting one more, seemingly impossible, robbery. Leading the hunt to get to the bottom of all that is going down is disheveled detective Jeff Allen (Woody Harrelson), whose nephew Chris (Casey Affleck) is also trying to make his mark.\u00a0 The feeling from the outset is that this is bound to end badly.<\/p>\n

Writer Matt Cook got the inspiration for his first feature while swapping stories with a mate during a road trip. While Cook used to be in the army and relayed some war stories, his buddy \u2013 an undercover narcotics agent \u2013 starting telling Cook about a \u201c999\u201d call he attended. His friend said if a cop gets wounded in a gun battle, police everywhere stop what they\u2019re doing, converge on the downed officer and basically keep going until they catch the perpetrator. When Cook asked his mate what then happened to the rest of the city, the response was \u201cwell, it\u2019s basically un-policed\u201d. Realising the concept was rife with dramatic possibilities, Cook started outlining his script.<\/p>\n

Triple 9<\/i> is dour, grimy filmmaking, with a strong and raw soundtrack. I felt decidedly dirty having watched it because all the main players appear compromised. The storyline is quite convoluted and therefore not all that easy to readily follow, save for the bottom line about which I have already had my say. This is no Heat<\/i> (the 1995 action crime drama from Michael Mann, which starred Al Pacino and Robert De Niro), although many of the usual cop movie tropes are apparent.<\/p>\n