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THE HARD WORD

Narrative Feature Special Screenings, U.S. Premiere Not just the "butcher talk" needs subtitles in Scott Roberts' Australian caper. With its over-the-top setup and mile-a-minute dialogue, the movie plays like a Down Under riff on familiar Tarantino turf, but it actually owes more to classic crime films like Get Carter and The Long Good Friday. There's a Seventies cool to the whole proceedings, as three jailbird brothers (Pearce, Taylor, and Edgerton) earn their "Get Out of Jail Free" cards by knocking over an armored truck and dividing the spoils with their corrupt captors. No sooner have they been set free than they turn their attention to the ultimate racetrack robbery, knocking over the Melbourne Cup. As with virtually every heist flick from The Killing to Snatch, no amount of planning can account for all the variables. In this particular equation, a double-crossing lawyer, a less-than-loyal dame (Griffiths), and a shotgun-happy hitman named "Tarzan" make the adventure as entertaining as it is unpredictable.