By FilmInk Staff
With his incredibly moving and finely nuanced turn in Craig Monahan’s underrated drama Healing, Mark Leonard Winter gave a performance that should have seen him showered with praise and awards. It did, however, lead to several more great roles on the big screen (Measure For Measure, Little Tornadoes, The Dressmaker, Escape To Pretoria), as well as a host of fascinating stage work. Always a compelling presence, Mark Leonard Winter has now diversified with his first film as a director. “The Rooster was written as an offering exploring the strange and lonely place a mental health crisis can take you,” Winter says of his debut. “The fact that something born of isolation has brought together the most extraordinary cast and crew to work on it is a tremendous victory in its own right. Together we have infused so much warmth, humour and emotional generosity into the material. It has been, and continues to be, a true joy in collaborating with my team to create something very special.”
The Rooster follows small-town cop Dan (Phoenix Raei – Clickbait, Stateless, The Night Agent), who finds himself in an emotional minefield. When the body of his oldest friend is found buried in a shallow grave, Dan seeks answers from a volatile hermit (Hugo Weaving), who was the last person to see his friend alive. A complex look at fear and anguish, The Rooster is a gripping story about friendship and how hope can come from unlikely places. Anchored by riveting performances from its two leads, the film confronts themes around shame and masculinity with unexpected humour, whilst keeping the audience in suspense.
The Rooster also features Helen Thomson (Elvis, Top of the Lake), Rhys Mitchell (Cake, Upper Middle Bogan), Bert La Bonte (Surviving Summer, Five Bedrooms), John Waters (Offspring, Mystery Road), Camilla Ah Kin (Wakefield, Holding the Man), Robert Menzies (Little Tornadoes, Glitch) and Deirdre Rubenstein (Force of Destiny, Superwog). “We’re thrilled to be bringing Mark’s exceptional and unique script to life with such an experienced team,” say producers Geraldine Hakewill and MahVeen Shahraki. “We can’t wait to share The Rooster with audiences around the world who crave nuanced, performance-driven mysteries.”
