# Interview, The (1998)

### reviewed by
Jon Popick

    PLANET SICK-BOY: http://www.sick-boy.com
    "We Put the SIN in Cinema"

The film that took Australia by storm has finally found its way to American soil. The Interview swept through the 1998 Australian Film Institute Awards, winning three major prizes (Best Film, Best Screenplay and Best Actor) out of the nine nominations it received. Not bad, considering it was writer/director Craig Monahan's first film.

The Interview is set in present-day Melbourne, and its first scene is a real attention-grabber. 41-year-old Eddie Fleming (Hugo Weaving) is asleep in his apartment, which is littered with old newspapers. At around 5 AM, his door is knocked off its hinges by a group of plainclothes detectives, some of whom beat and handcuff Fleming as the others begin to trash his pad in search of clues. Fleming has no idea why the cops are there, and before he can get his bearings, his pants are full of piss and he's been dragged off to headquarters for questioning.

At the police station, the investigation is taken over by Detective Sergeant John Steele (Tony Martin) and Detective Senior Constable Wayne Prior (Aaron Jeffrey), who proceed to interrogate Fleming with a `good cop/bad cop' style of double-team attack. The problem is that Fleming still has no idea why he's there, but this doesn't keep Steele and Prior from thinking they've got the right guy.

Most of The Interview takes place in the claustrophobic interrogation room, where we slowly learn what crimes the police believe Fleming has committed. At first, Steele and Prior give the impression their subject is suspected of car theft, but thanks to the numerous breaks taken during their interrogation, we learn that the stolen car is just the tip of the iceberg. Fleming is actually the prime suspect in the disappearance of six people the police believe have been murdered.

Suddenly, in the middle of the interrogation, Fleming throws the detectives for a loop when he confesses to the murders, describing in detail how he killed his victims and what he did with their bodies. Steele and Prior lick their lips in anticipation of closing a high-profile case, but their superiors aren't sure if Fleming is telling the truth, or just leading the detectives on a wild-goose chase.

Weaving, who is probably best known in the States as the guy who chased Keanu in The Matrix, is fantastic (and nearly unrecognizable with medium-length blond hair), acting more with his eyebrows than most mainstream stars can pull off with their entire bodies. Martin also does a decent job, but Jeffrey adds little to the film except knuckle-dragging muscle.

The Interview could be a kissing cousin to The Usual Suspects, but Monahan actually began writing his script in the early ‘90s, so all similarities are coincidental. It's a good film, but, unfortunately, it still feels like a Suspects rip-off. But that's still better than harvesting the carcass of a ‘70s television show or Saturday Night Live skit. Imagine Kafka taking on an episode of Homicide or NYPD Blue, and you've got a pretty good idea of the kind of film The Interview is. Terrific cinematography from Simon Duggan (the upcoming Risk) and score from double Oscar nominee David Hirschfelder (Shine, Elizabeth).

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