KID SNOW Reviewed by GREG KING
Director: Paul Goldman
Stars: Billy Howle, Phoebe Tonkin, Tom Bateman, Robert Taylor, Nathan Phillips, Mark Cole Smith, Hunter Page-Lockhard, Jack La Torre, John Brumpton.
A moderately engaging Australian drama set in the 1970s, Kid Snow is set against the backdrop of circus troupes of tent boxers that travelled through the outback. This is tale of outsiders on the fringes of survival fighting for survival and is also something of a comeback story and a redemption tale.
The film centres on Kid Snow (played by Billy Howle, from Dunkirk, etc), a good-natured and easy-going boxer who lost a fight to a rival boxer named Hammer, who went on to become a Commonwealth champion. Following that loss, Kid was involved in a car crash that killed his father (John Brumpton) and left his brother Rory (Tom Bateman, from Murder On The Orient Express, etc) a cripple. The pair travel around the remote town of Western Australia as part of an outdoor boxing troupe featuring a number of has been pugilists, but they are still haunted by the past.
Then an unexpected offer of a rematch against Hammer disrupts their lives. As does the arrival of the beautiful young woman named Sunny (Phoebe Tonkin, from the tv series Bloom, etc) and her young son Darcy (Jack La Torre, currently also seen in Runt) who are on the run from an abusive relationship. She becomes an exotic dancer as part of the troupe and Kid slowly falls for her and develops protective feelings for her and Darcy.
Kid Snow has been written by Brumpton, Stephen Cleary (My Mistress, etc) and Shane Danielsen (The Convert, etc), and the script taps into familiar themes of family, second chances and toxic masculinity, but the film trots out some familiar and tried tropes and is a little too long for what it has to say. Director Paul Goldman previously gave us Aussie Rules and the Michael Gudinski documentary Ego. He immerses us in this rugged world and some of the boxing scenes are brutal, although some of the fight choreography is a little clumsy. The staging of some boxing scenes also reflects the limitations of the low budget – there is little crowd noise and only the occasional flash of a camera to provide atmosphere.
The film has been nicely shot by cinematographer Garry Phillips (The Railway Man, etc). Production designer Clayton Jauncey (Hounds Of Love, etc) recreates the shabby environment for the travelling boxing troupe. The evocative music score has been provided by Warren Ellis and Peter Knight. Unfortunately, the limitations of the low budget mean that much of the drama in the scenario lack real impact.
Performances are fine, with Howle perfect as the taciturn titular Kid Snow, but his character is hard to warm to. Tonkin brings a sympathetic quality to her performance, while Bateman imbues his character with a hint of menace. Veteran Robert Taylor (from tv series Longmire, etc) plays a cynical American reporter who arrives to report on the rematch. Indigenous actors Mark Cole Smith and Hunter Page-Lochard provide solid support and make an impression with their underwritten roles.
★★☆
