Dead Point wonderfully completes the Jack Irish Trilogy
Sometime lawyer Jack Irish (Guy Pearce), this time, is tasked to find a ominous album containing incriminating pictures of his mystery client in Dead Point – the third and final 2014 Jack Irish television movie from director Jeffrey Walker and writer Matt Cameron.
Airing two years after the initial back to back TV movies based on the Peter Temple novels, Dead Point opens with helicopters, nighttime cargo raids, and drugs hidden in the stolen Porsche. Warrants, sensitive evidence, black lingerie, and whispers of a conspiracy put a judicial report at risk. Radio reports catch us up on the corruption, organized crime links, and arguments with the uncooperative officials on the air, and cops we know are on the scene of an overdosed informant that’s not what it seems. Lofty church meetings bring our ensemble onto the case, and Jack’s former father-in-law judge doesn’t trust the police. He knows Jack will be discrete in finding this red leather album, but seeing Jack also makes him too sad on top of what the provocative album contains.
An exclusive VIP club called The Snug lets Jack in its secret entrance to mingle amid the lavish clientele, but information is not forthcoming and police stonewall the paperwork. We’re one step behind in the dark with Jack, and the hostess who does talk ends up dead. Blackmailing lovers, hidden cameras – the price is now being paid for those dirty little secrets that cost careers, lives, and families. Two men on a park bench at twilight confessing the need to quell devilish cravings makes for a wonderfully subdued scene amid the action. Foot chases, hospital visits, sex tapes, corrupt investigations, and blackmail going further up the chain keep Dead Point well paced as we move from scene to scene with Jack for a nugget here, a threat there, attacks in the park, and ducking a forklift. Crime scene photos and potential mistaken identity lead to a perilous high-rise brunch and dead bodies in the trunk. Jack is behind bars while the ticking clock counts down to the inquiry report release and press conferences that would negate his bargaining chip. Shootouts, lighthouses, and planes versus trucks bring it to a head in an explosive, surprisingly happy finish.
Pearce’s short hair in Dead Point doesn’t seem like the scruffy Jack Irish we’ve come to love. Jack’s also jogging and drinking lattes instead of beer, however he’s out of breath and this turning over a new leaf doesn’t stick. It’s also awkward facing his former mother-in-law when Jack’s invited to his niece’s christening. The baby’s named Isabel, too, and brief dream sequences remind us of Jack’s late wife. His loft is dark and he’s tired of cooking for one – Jack’s packed away many of her things but he still returns to them, reluctant but tempted to play a tape of Isabel. Instead he takes solace in his woodworking, making a cradle while quoting his carpentry mentor Charlie, who’s said to be in the old country without nary a postcard. Jack is uncomfortable watching smutty camera footage, so he calls Linda to watch it too but she won’t sit on this scandal for long.
Linda Hillier (Marta Dusseldorp) is now on talk radio dealing with an annoying Jack who calls in under fake names with funny accents. Their flirting is passive aggressive – Linda asks if Jack will ever change but he insists he won’t if he can help it. She says she wants to take it slow this time, but the swanky vinyl and drinks mean they end up in bed yet again. Jack asks her to move in while Linda helps him at the workshop, and it’s an excellent twofer as every element of Jack’s life collides. She wonders if he’s holding back on this case because the judge is Isabel’s father, and it’s Linda who plays Isabel’s tape. Jack offers to get rid of the recording, but together they don’t have to be in a hurry to let the past go. When Jack is ambushed in the park and tells Linda someone tried to kill him, she yadda yaddas over him about the more important case details – but the look Linda gives him means they’re going to be okay.
Harry Strang (Roy Billing) objects when Jack shuts off his county music to put Linda on the radio when the jaguar is stuck in a traffic jam. Our racing guru has to lay low at the track so he brings in Cynthia (Deborah Mailman) aka “The Commissioner.” Her modest house is chaotic with numerous children but she has a cookie tin full of cash and collects the winnings in the lady’s room while the boys must listen to the photo finish in the car. Unfortunately, Cynthia is viciously attacked and robbed – leaving Harry distraught enough to quit the racing form. He provides an envelope for the medical bills and sends his staff to fix up Cynthia’s home while Jack carries her get well balloons and stuffed animals. Cynthia blames herself and questions what kind of life her high rolling provides for her family, but Cam Delray (Aaron Pederson) goes after the thugs who hurt Cynthia – and you know he will catch them. Cam gets pretty brutal while Jack stands by unneeded, but they get the stolen money back, too. Our boys also take the time to straighten out Cynthia’s wayward teen daughter like good uncles while the “Fitzroy Youth Club” Eric (Terry Norris), Wilbur (John Flaus), and Norm (Ronald Falk) actually go out to a football game. Of course, Shane Jacobson’s gluttonous cop Barry complains about the concessions and Damien Garvey’s bartender Stan has taken an online barista course to liven up the old Prince of Prussia bar, so Barry eats the entire breakfast special even if he says it’s horrible. Jack offers to pay for an empty mug to pour in his latte from elsewhere, but the elder clientele object to such changes and hope Stan kept the receipt for his newfangled espresso maker.
The woodworking and Fitzroy regalia come full circle amid the interlaced personal and well done crimes in Dead Point. Bright Melbourne filming and luxury looks contrast the humble suburbs and darker subject matter accented by opera and realistic gunfire. Jack Irish would subsequently continue in 2016 as a series running for three seasons until 2021, and although we’re rue to leave this cozy, quirky world, Dead Point is a fitting conclusion to this original Jack Irish television movie trilogy.
stills courtesy of ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
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Kristin Battestella writes articles, editorials, and reviews for several websites, magazines, and print publications including I Think, Therefore I Review and Search Magazine. Previously a traditionally published author of speculative fiction and the Fate and Fangs vampire novels, Kristin’s DIY Halloween how-tos and Kbatz Krafts articles have been featured at http://HorrorAddicts.net and in two Horror Addicts Guide to Life anthologies. In addition to sewing and @KbatzReviews Youtube vlogs; Kristin can be heard on the Women InSession podcast at http://InSessionFilm.com alongside her written classic film discourse. Kristin is also active in the local author community, having chaired writing events and conferences with the South Jersey Women Authors.
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