Dirty deeds

David Caesar takes an irreverent swipe at the gangster genre with this film set in the milieu of the 60s crime scene in Australia, which owes much to the spirit of more contemporary crime films such as Guy Richie’s “Lock, Stock and two smoking barrels”. It is 1969 and the criminal underbelly of Sydney’s King’s Cross has proven to be a lucrative business for notorious crime boss, Barry Ryan (Bryan Brown). His small-scale local operation is threatened however when the American Mafia catch wind of Barry’s profitable dealings and decide to muscle their way in. The scene is set for a David and Golliath battle between dodgy crooks and dodgier crooks! Caesar’s script is based partly on truth, particularly events surrounding the infiltration of the American mafia into Australian crime. “Dirty Deeds” uses this as a basis however to comment on the subsequent Americanization of Australian culture, while playfully poking fun at the Aussie laissez faire attitude vs American corporate efficiency. Cast also includes: Toni Collette, Sam Neill, John Goodman, Sam Worthington, Kestie Morassi, William McInnes.