Two Hands (2005)

Memorable, crazy movie

Just perfect...

Good concept, poorly executed.

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Comedy crime film combines the two genres flawlessly. Loved the Burt Bacharach-origami-chess-Scrabble-loving gangster played by Bryan Brown. And Rose Byrne and Heath Ledger early in their careers are both wonderful. SPOILER: The final shot is of Heath's wide smile. Happy ending.

Talking to fellow IMDbers about their favourite films,I found out about an early Aus Noir that Heath Ledger had made.With it being a leap day,I decided to grab the movie with both hands.The plot:Killed by underworld gangster Pando,a mysterious man comes back to life.Realising what the gangsters have done,the man is horrified to find that they now have their eyes on his brother Jimmy.Making ends meet by working as a security guard at a strip club,Jimmy takes an offer from gangster Pando to work for him.Given $10,000,Jimmy is told to drop it off at an address.Finding no one at the home,Jimmy decides to pass the time by going swimming (as you would!) Whilst Jimmy is swimming,two kids find the cash under a sandcastle and take it. Finding no sign of the cash,Jimmy gets into a similar debt with Pando which led to his brothers death.View on the film:Splashing neon-lit credits across the screen,writer/director Gregor Jordan & cinematographer Malcolm McCulloch peel open the dark side of the Aus sun,as the (largely) shot on location streets and drug dens are awash with mouldy colours which reveal the moody Film Noir grip that Pando has on the city.Dipping into the Horror genre,Jordan swings close-ups and fading colours across the mysterious man,whose shadow looms over the underworld that Jimmy is entering.Placing Jimmy in an outsider position,the screenplay by Jordan threads Jimmy's debt with a darkly comedic edge,which along with making the set pieces sparkle (such as a funny failed bank robbery) also gives the title a sinister Noir atmosphere,as Pando's bitter laughs engulf the gritty underworld.Looking pretty different to how she appears in wonderful TV series Damages, Rose Byrne gives a sweet,care-free performance as Alex,whilst Bryan Brown unleashes Jordan's un-clipped dialogue in a blistering manner as Pando.Working for the first of two times with Jordan, Heath Ledger gives a striking performance as Jimmy,thanks to Ledger initially giving Jimmy a confident swagger which is smashed against a Film Noir loner,as Jimmy slides his two hands into the Aus underworld.

A underrated gem of a action thriller crime caper comedy that manages to wrap around multiple subplots quite neatly and always give you a couple of surprises along the way.Heath Ledger is very good in the lead, and co-stars as a young Rose Byrne as his romantic interest and Bryan Brown as a ruthless crime boss are also very good... In fact all of the cast deliver what they are supposed to.I watched it 15 years ago and really liked it, I wasn't sure if it was gonna be one of those movies that could stand the test of time but it really turned out to be able to do that when I rewatched it today, so that was nice.Yeah well worth seeing, and then some. Solid soundtrack as well.

One of the main reasons that I decided to see this movie is that it depicted the criminal underworld in Australia, and in a way is an Australian version of Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. Unfortunately is tries too hard to be like that movie, and it is far from being tight and well executed. Instead it stumbles around a bit and gets caught up in pointless romantics while deciding whether it is a funny or a serious movie, and really does not make up its mind.Two Hands is about a young lad, Jimmy, who works as a bouncer and is a very good fighter, and how he is given a chance by Pando, the crime boss. Jimmy is simply instructed to take ten grand to a woman at Bondi beach, but he unfortunately loses it. So Jimmy must get Pando's money back for him while avoiding Pando's men. He ends up doing this by robbing a bank.What I like about this movie is that it did depict Australian life quite well, which is not surprising because it was made in Australia. Pando roving around in his Ford Escort, his flunkies wearing t-shirts and footy shorts, and basically everybody knowing everybody else was very Australian. The thing about Two-Hands is that it shows you how in a country with such a small population, everybody generally knows everybody else, yet there is little connection between the cities. Pando controls Sydney, but has little influence with what goes on in Melbourne. Also, if somebody does something, then people generally know who did it.Even though there were some comical parts to the movie, it really clashed with the rest of it. The movie really wasn't sure if it was trying to be funny, fantastic, or serious. We had the revenant of Jimmy's brother, who had been killed by Pando, running around; we had bank robbery foul-ups where the robber trips over a counter and knocks himself out cold, and we had the more serious side to it. Though it wasn't so far out that it destroyed the movie, it was enough to make us jump and wonder what we were really watching.It was still quite a good little movie. The characters were done well, and the atmosphere had a sense of realism about it. I also realised why 10 Things I Hate About You was advertised so heavily in Australia, and that is because the star of this movie, Heath Ledger, was also the star of 10 Things.