Movie Review - True History of the Kelly Gang

This film is about the life and death of Ned Kelly, an Australian outlaw in the 19th century. Kelly's life has been the subject of numerous media, including paintings, music and theater. There have even been two major motion pictures about him. The last being Ned Kelly (2003) with the late Heath Ledger in the titular role. That film was more a traditional Western that saw the titular character in the same vein as the American cowboy. Despite being an outlaw, the titular character was portrayed as more of a hero who was oppressed by authorities and government officials, a man who was discriminated because he was the son of an Irish convict and was looked down by the English who ruled over the country. This adaptation by Justin Kurzel (Assassin's Creed and Macbeth) doesn't elevate the protagonist here to hero status. It muddies the water more. Kurzel makes this film less about oppression from the government or police authorities. It's more a psycho-sexual tale about a boy with daddy and mommy issues trying to prove his masculinity and toughness more than seeking justice or vengeance.

If one is looking for a film that does a better job of being that kind of story, one should check out Jennifer Kent's The Nightingale (2019). Kent's film is more clear and straightforward about what it's doing. An Irish woman has something horrible done to her and she wants revenge against the English soldiers who perpetrated it. That film also concentrates on a short section of time in the Irish woman's life. Here, this film is trying to portray a larger slice of time, from childhood to adulthood. Through all of it, the protagonist is zigzagging from various people who affect him in negative ways. Lastly, an English police officer does something that offends him, so then he lashes out at all police. Given the recent, Black Lives Matter protests in the United States, as a result of the murder of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breona Taylor, a film where the protagonist is going after police might be appealing. The film doesn't make the case against the police though that is perhaps needed.

George MacKay (1917 and Captain Fantastic) stars as Edward Kelly aka Ned Kelly, the son of an Irish man living in Victoria, Australia. As a child, he witnessed his mother sexually serving British soldiers. His father is likely an Irish convict who is arrested for stealing a cow. Yet, it's suggested that Ned was the one who stole the cow. His anger and disillusionment about his father being emasculated seemed to be driving him. Later, his anger and disillusionment about his mother and others comparing him to his father or trying to push him to extremes also seem to drive him. He resists being violent and murderous until it seems to him that that's what he has to be to get what he wants, which shouldn't be the takeaway, but it's meant to be reflective of the times and the Western genre.

There's a weird, homoerotic undercurrent to this film that felt purposeful, but it's not clear how. There's various moments of men cross-dressing. Men in Ned's family wear women's dresses. It's first suggested that cross-dressing is a fetish of his father. Later, it seems to become a symbol or costume for committing crimes. There are numerous moments where Ned is observing men in sexual situations or he's just staring at nude men. He does have a sexual experience with a woman but he doesn't seem that engaged, which could be him just being nervous. Yet, he's more about getting the approval of his mother than his father, which is a gay stereotype. Finally, he seems to have more of a romantic or affectionate attachment to his male best friend. He even says he loves him and not really to anyone else.

I don't think Kurzel, the writer of this film, or the novel on which this is based are trying to make the argument that Ned Kelly was a closeted homosexual. I do think this film is trying to say something about the masculinity or manhood that Ned Kelly or the men in his life like Harry Power, played by Russell Crowe (Gladiator and A Beautiful Mind), want to either demonstrate or deconstruct. Literally, there's a scene where a naked man is under threat of castration right in front of Ned. I'm not sure what all this masculinity and manhood on display is supposed to mean in the end, but it comes off as serving a purpose that gets a bit lost.

The final action sequence has some interesting flourishes, but it feels too much in darkness for any connection to be made to it. In terms of Australian films, specifically Australian westerns, this one doesn't even come close to something like The Proposition (2006).

Rated R for strong violence, bloody images, language, sexual content and nudity.

Running Time: 2 hrs. and 5 mins.

Available on VOD and DVD.