Worth: $14.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Pete Murray, Ellie Popov, Brad McMurray
Intro:
...a slightly less aggressive Animal Kingdom.
With over 15 years in the music business, singer-songwriter Pete Murray takes his first steps into acting with Thicker Than Water, a grim melodrama from director Dominic Crisci.
Written by Ellie Popov, the film sees Murray playing D, a former drug addict returning home to face up to his family and his past. Whilst the Queensland singer will be the drawcard for many, the centre of the film is Ludmiller (Popov again), D’s sister who has been holding down the fort whilst D has been in rehab. Her other brothers are stoked about D crossing back over the threshold, but for Ludmiller his arrival means reliving some tough memories and having to double down as matriarch of the household.
If it’s possible that you can imagine a slightly less aggressive Animal Kingdom, than you’re pretty close to pitching whereabouts on the spectrum Thicker Than Water sits in terms of drama. Contrasting with the sunny backdrop of Queensland, Crisci and Popov delve into a seedy underworld which resurfaces upon D’s return. In a particularly vicious turn, Brad McMurray brings in the spite as Nic, a former acquaintance of D’s, who appears to have taken a leaf out of Ghost Dog’s book and can be found reciting samurai stories to his foot soldiers.
Where Thicker Than Water lets itself down is its apparent rush to the finish line. The brevity of the film’s runtime robs it of space to allow its characters to breathe. There are so many characters introduced in such short a time that it acts as a barrier to being able to immerse yourself in the plot.
And whilst performances are admittedly a mixed bag, Murray certainly gives it a fair swing; managing to navigate his character away from any of the clichés that tag along with the onscreen junkie. It’s Popov that climbs to the top of the hill stretching Ludmiller’s stress levels till you can almost hear them snap. They say you can’t choose your family, but taking Thicker Than Water as evidence, you might just wish you could.
