Savage

Kids are like sponges. They absorb everything. Words. Songs. Wisdom. Knowledge. Love. Hate. Violence. Bigotry. The things they experience in their formative years can shape the adults they will become. As you'll find out vividly when you sit down to watch this fine New Zealand crime drama from first time director Sam Kelly.

Damage. An apt name for the enforcer (Jake Ryan) of a New Zealand gang called the Savages. He's the go to guy for the gang's wetwork and his weapon of choice is a claw hammer. He's feared and respected by his fellow members but the only one who actually has any time for him is the club president Moses (John Tui). Damage and Moses grew up together from the borstals of their youth through the formation of their gang through to being it's top lieutenants and Moses is the only one who knows what makes Damage tick because he's not exactly an open book. Starting in 1989 and flashing back to 1965 and 1972 we get to bear witness to what made Damage the man he became.

Savage is one hell of a grim watch and one that doesn't pull its punches. You won't leave it smiling or feeling uplifted. It's not a tale of redemption and you'll barely raise a smile throughout. Its the story of a man born into violence, then moulded by violence until it becomes the only thing he's any good at. It's a story about the dark underbelly of a country that's rarely talked about, the racist and classist structures designed to keep the "undesirables" out of sight. The toxic environments that men too often find themselves in and unable to escape from and the effect that type of masculinity has on the psyche and the soul. Why would you put yourself through this you ask? Because sometimes it's good to remind yourself of how good you actually have it.

In 1992 the Australian crime drama Romper Stomper put Russell Crowe on the map and I've a feeling this film will do the same for Jake Ryan. He's best known for his turn as the troubled Robbo in Home And Away but his performance here will put soap opera's in the rear view for him. He's immense, a hulking ball of hate driven by a broken little boy inside. His physical presence is powerful but it's the psychological turmoil written across his face in a guise of a gang tattoo that will stay with you. Everything he does, his every move is clearly traceable to an experience no child or no-one should ever have to deal with but because of the macho culture he's immersed in he doesn't have the emotional intelligence or freedom to deal with it. The scenes in which it seems like he'll open up are a killer to watch when violence inevitably replaces far more important words. It's all a vicious cycle that badly needs to be broken.

When Damage begins to struggle with his place in the world you get the sense it's already far too late for Moses. Like Damage he was broken by the system as a child but for him it goes far deeper. He's a Maori, proud of his skin but knowing that in his own country he'll always be a second class citizen. And that's my one problem with Savage. As good as Ryan is as Damage this film should be Tui's story. Films about the Maori culture that actually get shown internationally are few and fair between and it's a pity it took a white lead for this to be made. Boy, Utu, Whale Rider, Once Where Warriors could all do it so why not here too? I'm asking the question but we all know the unpalatable answer.

From it's vicious opening to it's affecting close Savage is worth your time. I'm looking forward to director Samuel Kelly's next work already. It's in cinemas now but won't be around for long.