A different angle on life’s rocky road, the movie West of Sunshine deals with a father who’s separated from his wife and makes some bad choices. The Australian film has some very realistic acting, a compelling story and characters that find themselves in sticky situations. If you like drama that takes a few good twists, then this is your cup of tea.
Divorced dad Jimmy (Damian Hill) has been working for Golden Messenger service as a currier for some time now. Part of his reason for divorce is Jimmy’s addiction to betting on the horses. His best friend Steve (Arthur Angel) works at the same job, but seems to have His head screwed on better. On this day with his son Alex (Ty Perham) on holiday from school, Jimmy agrees to take the young boy on the route since his ex-wife has to work. Not fond of his choice, Alex’s boss tells him he wants the deliveries made without any incidents.
But, it’s also the day he has a debt to pay to Banos (Tony Nikolakopoulos), a loan shark. Director and writer Jason Raftopoulos has us follow Jimmy on his route as he tries to get money from friends, visits a pub where he lays down a bet, delivers packages to a variety of customers and deals with his son’s coming of age. I like the way Raftopoulos films the movie so that the audience becomes a part of the action and gets closer to the character development. Using his vintage car to make the deliveries due to a misunderstanding with his boss, the car itself even becomes a character in the film.
The acting by Damian Hill is very good showing Jimmy’s bitterness for his mistakes, affliction for gambling, teaching his son life lessons and then putting him in danger. It’s his weaknesses that makes the story real and gripping, especially because of the choices his addiction causes. Jimmy even starts to take chances, some of which are really dark, and while his only son accompanies him.
It’s a story that probably takes place every day in most all countries including America and Jason Raftopoulos totally hits the nail on the head. And just like most addicts, whether it be drugs, alcohol or gambling, it’s hard to spot, tough to cure and always detrimental. And in his story, from an ordinary day to a nightmare, the options of Johnny pulling out of his nosedive gets slimmer by the hour.
West of Sunshine has not been rated by the MPAA, but contains, language throughout, some violence and associated child abuse. Be cautious when deciding to allow immature children see the film as it does have some scenes that are inappropriate for youngsters.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A very good drama that’s well acted and directed. (3.5 out of 5 Stars)
Additional Film Information:
Cast: Damian Hill, Ty Perham, Arthur Angel, Kat Stewart, Tony Nikolakopoulos, Kaarin Fairfax, Faye Smythe, Eliza D’Souza
Directed and written by: Jason Raftopoulos
Genre: Crime, Drama
MPAA Rating: Not Rated, language throughout, some violence and drugs
Running Time: 1hr. 18 min.
Foreign Film: Australian
Opening Date: January 18, 2019
Distributed by: Uncork’d Entertainment
Released in: Standard, also VOD on January 22, 2019
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
