By Erin Free
Aussies love sport, but local movies on the subject are surprisingly thin on the ground. The Club, directed by Bruce Beresford from a play by David Williamson (the two had previously collaborated on the 1976 classic, Don’s Party), is one of the best of a relatively small bunch. Set behind the doors of an Aussie Rules club, the film focuses on tough nut coach, Laurie Holden (beautifully played by an at-the-peak-of-his-powers Jack Thompson, who took inspiration for his character from game icons, Ron Barassi and Tom Hafey, both of whom provided the actor with technical advice), who is at constant loggerheads with the team’s executive and hierarchy. Holden also battles with rebellious young player, Geoff Hayward (a taut and very young John Howard, who would of course go on to become one of our most prolific stage and TV actors), who struggles to fit in with the established team.
Boasting a typically earthy and distinctly Australian sense of humour, The Club (which was filmed in and around the rooms, offices, and grounds of the actual Collingwood Football Club) mixes its serious look at the ins and outs of a football team with the kind of comedy that runs rampant on the sports field. Speaking of humour, Aussie legend, Graham Kennedy, also stars as the compromised club president, while a host of other familiar faces (Harold Hopkins, Alan Cassell, Frank Wilson) also feature.
With his characteristic understanding of character and vernacular (how often do you hear the word “turd” used in films these days?), Bruce Beresford (Puberty Blues, The Getting Of Wisdom, Driving Miss Daisy) fashions a tough, no-bullshit drama driven by pinpoint observations about the corruption of sport’s supposed purity by political and financial forces. All the seminal football characters are here, and the film rings true at every turn, beautifully evoking an era when terms like “leadership group” and “sports psychology” didn’t even exist.
Tellingly, The Club was made when the Australian film industry was enjoying a true upswing. “I think there were a lot of people in Australia just champing at the bit,” Bruce Beresford told Vulture in 2015. “And when the government made money available through the arts funds, there were a lot of people at the starting gate – and bang, they were off. They got some money and off they went. There were a bunch of us who were just so keen to make films, and had stories we were passionate to tell. It’s gotten much more sophisticated out there now: big studios, co-productions with America, that sort of thing. But there’s still a lot of enthusiasm in Australia. We still make very good films.”
