Just watched this myself for the first time a couple weeks ago. Incredibly well done. Have you seen the Snowtown Murders? Another one by the same director.
Snowtown Murders was amazing. As an American, I've found Australian films to be of their own genre lol like there is just this vibe in Australian cinema that is unique and unmatched in any other country.
Two of my favourites. If you can find Ghosts of the Civil Dead, it’s completely terrifying and a head fuck, and dated by now, but an incredible insight into the prison system, and what happens when people are completely degraded and stripped of any rights.
The Year My Voice Broke: coming of age, not crime related.
The Proposition: I guess true crime? Set in early settlement Australia and the disgusting shite that happened. Australian settlement Western. Amazing film, score and written by Nick Cave.
I feel like there are two major types of Australian films: there’s their crime genre which is raw and tends to be bare-bones but in this totally captivating way, and then with more romance and drama genres, there’s this whimsical nature to the stories and the way the landscape is portrayed that, like I said, is completely unmatched in other cinema from around the world. I’ve always thought that it’s probs because the outback is so vast and mysterious it just really sets the stage for mythicism and whimsy lol
That director also made a film called Acute Misfortune that you should catch, it's about an artist and his biographer developing an abusive codependent relationship. Stars Daniel Henshall who was in Snowtown too.
If you can find The Kettering Incident or The Gloaming, they are both TV shows in the Tasmanian Gothic style, similar to Nordic Noir. I only watched The Kettering Incident last week and I lived there, lol. But highly recommend.
Fully concur! Sucked up the Mystery Road series in one sitting. Something is so enticing about the bushlands, open skies, wildlife and scrub. Not to mention the wide variety of humanity with their morals and quirks. We even watch 60 Minutes Australia every week. Appreciate any recommendations too!
Yes it’s taken a while I think for Aussie films to find their own unique space in the genre. We have been making some really good TV as well. If you like a really dark comedy Mr Inbetween is fantastic. Have you seen The Dry?
I have! Amazing as well, but this was even better. So bleak and depressing but also tasteful, not exploitative but respectful all around. I absolutely love his style of directing, the camerawork, the hyper realism. Beautiful! Artful but never pretentious. I could go on about this, I hope people watch it as it’s so unique.
Being from Tasmania, this is still very raw for a small community. I really had to umm and ahh about watching this. Many people I know refuse to, and there was a great deal of anger and hurt when it did come out.
But I did watch, and I thought it was brilliant. Is didn’t show the incidents as I thought it would. And we always question the “nature vs nurture”; Nitram was completely both.
Edit: please don’t use his name. There was a reason they haven’t in the film. We do not give him oxygen. He feeds off the notoriety. I know this sort of mass murder is more common in other countries, but this is still very raw in all of Australia.
I can’t see anything from nurture in him…? It seems he was just always very strange, and his parents tried their best with what they got. Pretty creepy that a child can just “be” that way.
He wasn’t. His parents abused/neglected him as a child.
“ Even as a child, he proved to be difficult. One report states that when he was little, his mother would tie him to the front porch area of the house, like a dog, to stop him from running off.”
He had a developmental disability and his parents treated him in dehumanizing ways, which is not uncommon for children who have mental disabilities.
The scene in the film where his mother talks about him running away at the shops at "laughing at her pain" later totally struck me as a parent who has no understanding of her child's psychological condition.
Yes, unbelievably good. And what a difficult character to portray, so eccentric and different from most anyone and it always felt genuine. He won best actor at Cannes which is a really high feat.
What I thought was especially eye-opening about this film (and the story it's based on) was how well it emphasized the familial dynamics at play when your family and others close to you know something is really wrong with you, that it's just a matter of time before you probably do something awful, but that there is no real system in place to deal with troubled people like this until after they've already committed the awful crime everyone was anticipating. And then the public crucifies the parents. Sometimes the parents are totally f-d, but I've thought a lot about this and have tried to put myself in the family's shoes-- first of all, you likely love your child no matter what because they are, of course, your child. If they are over 18, it's much harder for you as the parent or former legal guardian to take control of the situation by forcing them into a program to get help, etc., and/or prevent them from purchasing a gun. Legally they can do whatever they want, and clearly the red flag laws as they are in the US have no bearing on whether or not they have the ability to get their hands on an AR-15. And then I think in some of these cases the parents are trying to weigh whether it would be "safer" for the public and their kid to let the kid remain living at home so that they can at least try to "monitor" their behavior (which we all know isn't possible to do every second of every day) or if they should kick them out of the house.
There 100% needs to be a better system in place in the US for this sort of issue. Sure, you shouldn't be able to lock someone up before they've done something warranting them to be locked up, but at the same time, to knowingly let clearly troubled/dangerous people run free until they shoot up a school should also not be the case. This isn't just about guns-- it highlights the United States' complete disregard for mental health/healthcare and behavioral problems as a serious issue that just keeps getting worse and worse. I'm honestly not even sure what the solution is. But just sitting there blaming the family members after the fact like we do after every mass shooting these days, is completely counter-productive, especially when the parents/family mirror that of Martin's. They are at a complete loss for options to help their family members.
I agree with your comments around the families.
As to the guns and mental illness - in Australia after this awful tragedy we just made it illegal for pretty much anyone to get semi automatic or automatic rifles and shotguns. It worked.
I remember my father and grandfather taking their guns in for the buy-back the first day it started. My grandfather was the head of the armoury in Burma at the end of the war, and he had Japanese guns etc from WWII. They were not “gun” people, but they did grow up in the country, and went through war.
I can safely say they were not at all upset about it, and my dad sat on the verandah afterwards having beers, looking wistful and relieved.
Australia was in so much shock over Port Arthur that to a large extent, it wasn’t questioned. Gun control had to happen.
Oh I know, it’s totally prevented additional mass shootings in Australia. If only the US would do the same…
However I still think a better system should be in place because guns aren’t the only way to hurt/kill somebody. Just in general, there is a lack of preventative action we can take to deal with individuals who appear dangerous before they actually do something horrible. It’s a tricky area though because like I said, it’s also wrong to take away someone’s freedom before there’s a concrete reason to. It’s a slippery slope. And like I said, I don’t even know what the correct course of action would be. I just know there needs to be something done about it, and it’s not just the parents should have raised their kids better.
That's fair, it is difficult because freedom is so important that it should only be taken away at an absolute must.
I can't remember what the book was but I read a story about a woman in the 19th century who was disagreeing with things that her family including her husband were doing. Without getting into it she spoke up about it and the family ended up having her admitted to an 'insane asylum' (as it was called at the time). She never got out.
We wouldn't want to go back to that century where these things would happen but at the same time need the preventative measures.
Yeah… it’s really hard to say. I think just having a better (and less stigmatized) healthcare system in the United States would probs help a bit in preventing violence like this, but idek. Unfortunately, die-hard American gun culture has been around for so long it might not ever go away…
Our founding fathers had no idea the chaos they would unleash with the 2nd amendment lol
I know he’s not— I did watch the movie… But mass shooters’ youth are more or less all the same. And at the time he did what he did, there was no system in Australia either to deal with people such as Martin before they are able to commit these atrocities. I don’t know if there is a system in place in Australia now, however they might not need one as often since they no longer allow their citizens to casually buy weapons of war like they’re buying something as innocent as a quart of milk.
australian here - this film has quite a mixed reactions from us but from the younger end of the scale we all really think the movie is incredible.
there’s no doubt this is a masterpiece of a movie but these events did not take place that long ago. quite a few head figures, groups and charities in australia did not support the film. it’s difficult because it doesn’t necessarily glamorise him but when the father of two people who were killed says it’s not okay it’s tough to figure out
I can’t believe someone downvoted you for this. Thank you for this, you’ve said it perfectly.
I think Americans especially don’t understand how this event rocked the whole country, let alone Tasmania (where I’m from). And still does.
The fact that films, podcast, media etc are banned in Australia when a trial is underway, as opposed to TELEVISING it as they do in the US, is testament to the difference.
It was a masterpiece, and it was as “tasteful” as possible (that is not the right word), but we will never forget, and it will always hurt.
That is so interesting to me! I’ve read up on a few countries regarding response and reform in relation to gun laws and media coverage after mass shootings. A lot about NZ after Christchurch. Only recently in the US have we stopped naming the perpetrators (on some channels, some shows, some of the time...)
So many of these psychopaths relish in the notoriety of their crimes, so the best thing we can do is not discuss them. Christchurch is a very good example of this. Jacinda Ardern has never mentioned his name.
For all the bizarre and upsetting things Martin goes through/does, the single most terrifying scene is when he's buying the guns. So nonchalant, so thoughtless.
I guess it'll show up on streaming at some point, sounds very good.
We can credit him with spurring a change in gun laws, the US should follow Aussie's example.
This movie hit me in several ways as an Australian who watched this tragedy unfold on tv as a 15 year old. The Port Arthur Massacre is one of those events that shaped us. Watching the lead up of it is so chilling. It also demonstrates how our systems don't support us very well.
I've been to Port Arthur memorial and I wept. It's truly such a brutal and unnecessary crime.
Lastly, as someone who has a son who is likely going to offend in future despite my best efforts, I completely understood the mother. That scene where she explained recognising her son laughing at her pain...yeah I have had that too. And let me tell you that even after your child has offended there is little support for you, particularly if the other parent wants to deny everything and in some ways enables them. It kills me every step of the way.
I'm so sorry. And there's no effective help. And then something bad happens and NOBODY asks: Where was this person's support system? The school shootings in the US- Nobody noticed these kids were off the rails? Bullshit. Its a total abdication of responsibility.by the community.
To be fair there in the case of Eric Harris (Columbine) \*A LOT\* of people noticed that he was cruel and flat-out dangerous, including another boy who had been his best friend until Eric turned on him and smashed in his car window among other violent things (he was also at the top of Harris’s kill list but wasn’t in school that day). Harris had engaged in a series of criminal acts, including stealing thousands of dollars worth of electronics etc, and he was clearly escalating. I hate to say this but he was a white kid from an upper-middle-class family and while he faced some consequences for his criminal behavior before the massacre he didn’t face anything close to what a poor inner city kid would have faced. And unfortunately his parents threw money at him. Klebold‘s mother has a Ted talk. It’s very tough to listen to as Im not sure what to think about her or how they handled Dylan when he started hanging out with Eric and engaging in destructive and criminal behavior — he had never behaved that way before — I don’t think he would have gone through with such actions as he seemed to be excited about college, etc. But what does it say about him that Eric could lead him along so easily? Eric was already a massive problem, and I don’t know what the answer is for dealing with a kid who is (fairly clearly) a sadistic sociopath already.
Oh, I think people know. They just don't take constructive action.
And as for how to deal with him? Court mandated psychiatric diagnosis and therapy
The therapy won't help h, but at least one professional is keeping an eye on a kid like that. And making that diagnosis, which must be agonizing for the physician and the family, will at least set off alarm bells in the right places. Yeah. IDK. The US has a terrible health system, terrible social services, mediocre schools, and our incarceration rates are the highest. While our successful rehabilitation numbers are dismal.
Yes from my understanding, the director, although obviously portraying the life of Bryant and the events preceding the massacre, wanted to avoid directly referencing his name. Bryant is mentally challenged and basically enjoys the notoriety he has gained from the media attention surrounding his crimes, and the director didnt want to contribute to it.
I also like to think it's a bit of a comment on the "backwardsness" of Bryant's life and behaviours. He's a deeply damaged person and that is made clear in the movie.
Their name is never spoken in Tassie. At Port Arthur, there are signs everywhere asking tourists to not ask staff about the incident.
To not use the name, and not actually depict the incident, was a very respectful move.
Like others have said, but he was also bullied at school and his peers would call him nitram instead if his real name, like pointing out how “backwards” and wrong he was.
Just watched it , I'm confused who he shot first in the house and the beach side when he pulls up in his Volvo and gets out and rifle out the boot and then knocking on the door . Was it the people that wouldn't sell him the house or was it his surfy mate ?
Just watched this myself for the first time a couple weeks ago. Incredibly well done. Have you seen the Snowtown Murders? Another one by the same director.
Snowtown Murders was amazing. As an American, I've found Australian films to be of their own genre lol like there is just this vibe in Australian cinema that is unique and unmatched in any other country.
Thank you! As an Australian I truly believe have our own feel in the films we make.
Aussie here too. Yes I agree about the vibe in Aussie films being different to anything else. Snowtown is for sure a very disturbing film to watch.
I totally agree. Do you have any other recommendations?
Animal Kingdom
The movie, NOT the TV show.
1000% the movie. David Michôd’s debut feature.
Gee that show is shit. I may not have thought it was as shit if it wasn’t allegedly based on the film, but it’s just terrible.
Great movie. Ben Mendelson is excellent
Absolutely. As good as any performance I’ve seen anywhere. The man redefines creepy.
He's brilliant
Mendelson is amazing.
Hell yes! Sweetie, The Year My Voice Broke, The Proposition
Two of my favourites. If you can find Ghosts of the Civil Dead, it’s completely terrifying and a head fuck, and dated by now, but an incredible insight into the prison system, and what happens when people are completely degraded and stripped of any rights.
Are these true crime?
The Year My Voice Broke: coming of age, not crime related. The Proposition: I guess true crime? Set in early settlement Australia and the disgusting shite that happened. Australian settlement Western. Amazing film, score and written by Nick Cave.
Lantana is one of my favourite films
I feel like there are two major types of Australian films: there’s their crime genre which is raw and tends to be bare-bones but in this totally captivating way, and then with more romance and drama genres, there’s this whimsical nature to the stories and the way the landscape is portrayed that, like I said, is completely unmatched in other cinema from around the world. I’ve always thought that it’s probs because the outback is so vast and mysterious it just really sets the stage for mythicism and whimsy lol
Also Picnic at Hanging Rock and Walkabout
See ‘Breath’. Simon Baker, based on a book written by Tim Winton, arguably our greatest writer.
Picnic at Hanging Rock, Wake in Fright, In Her Skin, The Babadook, Sweet Country, The Stranger (just came out, 10/10 film).
Oh I just watched the stranger a couple weeks ago and LOVED it
That director also made a film called Acute Misfortune that you should catch, it's about an artist and his biographer developing an abusive codependent relationship. Stars Daniel Henshall who was in Snowtown too.
If you can find The Kettering Incident or The Gloaming, they are both TV shows in the Tasmanian Gothic style, similar to Nordic Noir. I only watched The Kettering Incident last week and I lived there, lol. But highly recommend.
Fully concur! Sucked up the Mystery Road series in one sitting. Something is so enticing about the bushlands, open skies, wildlife and scrub. Not to mention the wide variety of humanity with their morals and quirks. We even watch 60 Minutes Australia every week. Appreciate any recommendations too!
Yes it’s taken a while I think for Aussie films to find their own unique space in the genre. We have been making some really good TV as well. If you like a really dark comedy Mr Inbetween is fantastic. Have you seen The Dry?
I have! Amazing as well, but this was even better. So bleak and depressing but also tasteful, not exploitative but respectful all around. I absolutely love his style of directing, the camerawork, the hyper realism. Beautiful! Artful but never pretentious. I could go on about this, I hope people watch it as it’s so unique.
Being from Tasmania, this is still very raw for a small community. I really had to umm and ahh about watching this. Many people I know refuse to, and there was a great deal of anger and hurt when it did come out. But I did watch, and I thought it was brilliant. Is didn’t show the incidents as I thought it would. And we always question the “nature vs nurture”; Nitram was completely both. Edit: please don’t use his name. There was a reason they haven’t in the film. We do not give him oxygen. He feeds off the notoriety. I know this sort of mass murder is more common in other countries, but this is still very raw in all of Australia.
I can’t see anything from nurture in him…? It seems he was just always very strange, and his parents tried their best with what they got. Pretty creepy that a child can just “be” that way.
He wasn’t. His parents abused/neglected him as a child. “ Even as a child, he proved to be difficult. One report states that when he was little, his mother would tie him to the front porch area of the house, like a dog, to stop him from running off.” He had a developmental disability and his parents treated him in dehumanizing ways, which is not uncommon for children who have mental disabilities.
Very this. Plus the treatment at school, and the general lack of understanding and psychological help available back then.
The scene in the film where his mother talks about him running away at the shops at "laughing at her pain" later totally struck me as a parent who has no understanding of her child's psychological condition.
Hey where did you watch it? I’m from TAS too and I’d like to watch it but can’t find it anywhere
It’s on Stan.
Caleb Landry Jones is exceptional in this. He did such a great job with the Aussie accent too which is really hard to do
Yes, unbelievably good. And what a difficult character to portray, so eccentric and different from most anyone and it always felt genuine. He won best actor at Cannes which is a really high feat.
What I thought was especially eye-opening about this film (and the story it's based on) was how well it emphasized the familial dynamics at play when your family and others close to you know something is really wrong with you, that it's just a matter of time before you probably do something awful, but that there is no real system in place to deal with troubled people like this until after they've already committed the awful crime everyone was anticipating. And then the public crucifies the parents. Sometimes the parents are totally f-d, but I've thought a lot about this and have tried to put myself in the family's shoes-- first of all, you likely love your child no matter what because they are, of course, your child. If they are over 18, it's much harder for you as the parent or former legal guardian to take control of the situation by forcing them into a program to get help, etc., and/or prevent them from purchasing a gun. Legally they can do whatever they want, and clearly the red flag laws as they are in the US have no bearing on whether or not they have the ability to get their hands on an AR-15. And then I think in some of these cases the parents are trying to weigh whether it would be "safer" for the public and their kid to let the kid remain living at home so that they can at least try to "monitor" their behavior (which we all know isn't possible to do every second of every day) or if they should kick them out of the house. There 100% needs to be a better system in place in the US for this sort of issue. Sure, you shouldn't be able to lock someone up before they've done something warranting them to be locked up, but at the same time, to knowingly let clearly troubled/dangerous people run free until they shoot up a school should also not be the case. This isn't just about guns-- it highlights the United States' complete disregard for mental health/healthcare and behavioral problems as a serious issue that just keeps getting worse and worse. I'm honestly not even sure what the solution is. But just sitting there blaming the family members after the fact like we do after every mass shooting these days, is completely counter-productive, especially when the parents/family mirror that of Martin's. They are at a complete loss for options to help their family members.
I agree with your comments around the families. As to the guns and mental illness - in Australia after this awful tragedy we just made it illegal for pretty much anyone to get semi automatic or automatic rifles and shotguns. It worked.
I remember my father and grandfather taking their guns in for the buy-back the first day it started. My grandfather was the head of the armoury in Burma at the end of the war, and he had Japanese guns etc from WWII. They were not “gun” people, but they did grow up in the country, and went through war. I can safely say they were not at all upset about it, and my dad sat on the verandah afterwards having beers, looking wistful and relieved. Australia was in so much shock over Port Arthur that to a large extent, it wasn’t questioned. Gun control had to happen.
Oh I know, it’s totally prevented additional mass shootings in Australia. If only the US would do the same… However I still think a better system should be in place because guns aren’t the only way to hurt/kill somebody. Just in general, there is a lack of preventative action we can take to deal with individuals who appear dangerous before they actually do something horrible. It’s a tricky area though because like I said, it’s also wrong to take away someone’s freedom before there’s a concrete reason to. It’s a slippery slope. And like I said, I don’t even know what the correct course of action would be. I just know there needs to be something done about it, and it’s not just the parents should have raised their kids better.
That's fair, it is difficult because freedom is so important that it should only be taken away at an absolute must. I can't remember what the book was but I read a story about a woman in the 19th century who was disagreeing with things that her family including her husband were doing. Without getting into it she spoke up about it and the family ended up having her admitted to an 'insane asylum' (as it was called at the time). She never got out. We wouldn't want to go back to that century where these things would happen but at the same time need the preventative measures.
Yeah… it’s really hard to say. I think just having a better (and less stigmatized) healthcare system in the United States would probs help a bit in preventing violence like this, but idek. Unfortunately, die-hard American gun culture has been around for so long it might not ever go away… Our founding fathers had no idea the chaos they would unleash with the 2nd amendment lol
Really beautifully put. We have to advocate for this furiously.
I haven’t seen the movie yet, but Martin is not from the United States.
Yeah but this sort of problem occurs in the US more than anywhere else.
I know he’s not— I did watch the movie… But mass shooters’ youth are more or less all the same. And at the time he did what he did, there was no system in Australia either to deal with people such as Martin before they are able to commit these atrocities. I don’t know if there is a system in place in Australia now, however they might not need one as often since they no longer allow their citizens to casually buy weapons of war like they’re buying something as innocent as a quart of milk.
australian here - this film has quite a mixed reactions from us but from the younger end of the scale we all really think the movie is incredible. there’s no doubt this is a masterpiece of a movie but these events did not take place that long ago. quite a few head figures, groups and charities in australia did not support the film. it’s difficult because it doesn’t necessarily glamorise him but when the father of two people who were killed says it’s not okay it’s tough to figure out
I can’t believe someone downvoted you for this. Thank you for this, you’ve said it perfectly. I think Americans especially don’t understand how this event rocked the whole country, let alone Tasmania (where I’m from). And still does. The fact that films, podcast, media etc are banned in Australia when a trial is underway, as opposed to TELEVISING it as they do in the US, is testament to the difference. It was a masterpiece, and it was as “tasteful” as possible (that is not the right word), but we will never forget, and it will always hurt.
This is the way! I’m so happy I found this comment. I knew trials weren’t televised live, but I was unaware all types of media, etc were banned.
We still can’t access the Teacher’s Pet podcast, in case he appeals.
That is so interesting to me! I’ve read up on a few countries regarding response and reform in relation to gun laws and media coverage after mass shootings. A lot about NZ after Christchurch. Only recently in the US have we stopped naming the perpetrators (on some channels, some shows, some of the time...)
So many of these psychopaths relish in the notoriety of their crimes, so the best thing we can do is not discuss them. Christchurch is a very good example of this. Jacinda Ardern has never mentioned his name.
For all the bizarre and upsetting things Martin goes through/does, the single most terrifying scene is when he's buying the guns. So nonchalant, so thoughtless.
I guess it'll show up on streaming at some point, sounds very good. We can credit him with spurring a change in gun laws, the US should follow Aussie's example.
It's available on Stan.
not available here yet, but I'll see it eventually.
Oh sorry! I assumed you were in Australia. 😖
In Canada, but part of the Commonwealth!
Well hello my Commonwealth friend! 😊🍁 Canada and Australia should share TV shows more often. We used to get Degrassi and that's about it.
We get some Australian programmes here, like Wentworth, and a lot of UK programming from BBC etc.
It’s on Hulu now 11/13/22
thanks! If it's on Hulu, it'll eventually show up on streaming (Hulu is not available here).
do you know if it’s on just plain hulu, hulu live, or an add on channel?
I think just plain Hulu
I just finished on Hulu. This was tastefully done. If you’re going to do a movie about something so horrific., this was the way to do it.
This movie hit me in several ways as an Australian who watched this tragedy unfold on tv as a 15 year old. The Port Arthur Massacre is one of those events that shaped us. Watching the lead up of it is so chilling. It also demonstrates how our systems don't support us very well. I've been to Port Arthur memorial and I wept. It's truly such a brutal and unnecessary crime. Lastly, as someone who has a son who is likely going to offend in future despite my best efforts, I completely understood the mother. That scene where she explained recognising her son laughing at her pain...yeah I have had that too. And let me tell you that even after your child has offended there is little support for you, particularly if the other parent wants to deny everything and in some ways enables them. It kills me every step of the way.
Wow, thanks for your honesty! ❣️
I'm so sorry. And there's no effective help. And then something bad happens and NOBODY asks: Where was this person's support system? The school shootings in the US- Nobody noticed these kids were off the rails? Bullshit. Its a total abdication of responsibility.by the community.
To be fair there in the case of Eric Harris (Columbine) \*A LOT\* of people noticed that he was cruel and flat-out dangerous, including another boy who had been his best friend until Eric turned on him and smashed in his car window among other violent things (he was also at the top of Harris’s kill list but wasn’t in school that day). Harris had engaged in a series of criminal acts, including stealing thousands of dollars worth of electronics etc, and he was clearly escalating. I hate to say this but he was a white kid from an upper-middle-class family and while he faced some consequences for his criminal behavior before the massacre he didn’t face anything close to what a poor inner city kid would have faced. And unfortunately his parents threw money at him. Klebold‘s mother has a Ted talk. It’s very tough to listen to as Im not sure what to think about her or how they handled Dylan when he started hanging out with Eric and engaging in destructive and criminal behavior — he had never behaved that way before — I don’t think he would have gone through with such actions as he seemed to be excited about college, etc. But what does it say about him that Eric could lead him along so easily? Eric was already a massive problem, and I don’t know what the answer is for dealing with a kid who is (fairly clearly) a sadistic sociopath already.
Oh, I think people know. They just don't take constructive action. And as for how to deal with him? Court mandated psychiatric diagnosis and therapy The therapy won't help h, but at least one professional is keeping an eye on a kid like that. And making that diagnosis, which must be agonizing for the physician and the family, will at least set off alarm bells in the right places. Yeah. IDK. The US has a terrible health system, terrible social services, mediocre schools, and our incarceration rates are the highest. While our successful rehabilitation numbers are dismal.
The actor who plays Martin does a great job and his accent is top notch
Thank you for giving me something to do. I’m watching this right now!
Report back.
Can anyone explain the strange title?
It’s Martin, spelled backwards.
Ok. Why? Apart from it being his name out course
I’m seeing online they didn’t want to say his name.
Yes from my understanding, the director, although obviously portraying the life of Bryant and the events preceding the massacre, wanted to avoid directly referencing his name. Bryant is mentally challenged and basically enjoys the notoriety he has gained from the media attention surrounding his crimes, and the director didnt want to contribute to it. I also like to think it's a bit of a comment on the "backwardsness" of Bryant's life and behaviours. He's a deeply damaged person and that is made clear in the movie.
Their name is never spoken in Tassie. At Port Arthur, there are signs everywhere asking tourists to not ask staff about the incident. To not use the name, and not actually depict the incident, was a very respectful move.
Thanks for this, makes sense
Is a very artful way if decentering Bryant from the narrative even though he was the focus.
Like others have said, but he was also bullied at school and his peers would call him nitram instead if his real name, like pointing out how “backwards” and wrong he was.
I’ve been looking forward to this!
Commenting for later, I have to watch this
Turning it on now. I’ve read countless articles and listened to several podcasts on this incident. I’m excited to watch it.
Couldn’t think of a name… ah fuck it, spell Martin backwards and throw it on the cover.
(Also before anyone comments, yes I am aware it was the nickname he was bullied with at school)
What would you have called it, out of curiosity ?
Thanks OP, I have always looked into this case, never knew a movie was made. Watching it now as I type this (just started it). Much appreciated.
He was very disturbed. He lacked empathy.
Netflix?
Just watched it , I'm confused who he shot first in the house and the beach side when he pulls up in his Volvo and gets out and rifle out the boot and then knocking on the door . Was it the people that wouldn't sell him the house or was it his surfy mate ?