Good story but the characters were pretty one dimensional. I could never live this bohemian life with a mattress on the floor and no care in the world... No care except for the decriminalisation of gay acts and upturning the status quo with equal rights for all of course. It's not "It's A Sin" but it's good enough for an Australian flick.
Riot
2018
Drama / History / Romance
Plot summary
In 1978, when the push to decriminalise homosexuality has stalled, a group of activists decide they must make one final attempt to celebrate who they are. Led by former union boss, Lance Gowland, they get a police permit and spread the word. On a freezing winter's night, they cloak themselves in fancy dress, join hands, and parade down oxford street. But they have no idea that angry police lie in wait, and the courage they find that night will finally mobilise the nation.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Top cast
Will McDonald as Jeremy
Jessica De Gouw as Robyn Plaister
Xavier Samuel as Jim Walker
Damon Herriman as Lance Gowland
Movie Reviews
Reviewed by
"Let's get this party started"
Reviewed by
A brave, honest account of an important chapter in gay and lesbian history
I think Riot, particularly in the way it's structured, is quite a brave film. It doesn't try to glorify the story of the first Mardi Gras or recast the gaining of gay rights as some kind of dramatic collective social awakening. It's just about the thankless grind of activism and the way activism interacts, enriches and detracts from the lives of activists. In that way, it's not an ambitious film. It certainly doesn't tell you how to feel with grand turning points and emotional crescendos. For me, however, the magic was in the characters - thoughtfully fleshed out and lovingly brought to life, they made me care about a story whose ending I already knew. Yes, there are occasional moments where characters shoutily dump exposition onto people who knew all of it anyway, but I've never seen a historical movie about activism that didn't have that. Those moments were few and far between, though. Mostly this movie is a moving portrayal of the heroes who made the world a better place for people like me and the punches they took and the sacrifices they made along the way.
Reviewed by
It's ok
An interesting history. Good actors, all of them, a so-so ok script with some clunky dialogue.
The script would have worked fine if the director was up to the challenge, however this well-meant tv movie falls down flat.
I don't understand why Australian tv-show/movie directors approach their show like they're a film student being given an episode of Home and Away to direct. No imagination, no sensitivity to the subject or the medium of film. And the by-the-numbers daytime soap musical interjections were toe-curling.
The end montage of actors with the actual person was moving. More could have been made of this.
In all, it's an ok movie, the sense of community is well created and the actors and subject make it worth a watch.
One day maybe a good movie will be made of the history of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.