Prime Mover

By Clint Morris

The tank may be only half-full but at least we’re running on leaded here.

David Caesar’s challenging new action/thriller/drama/love-letter-to-big-rigs is a bit like an old – it still runs good, and looks rather slick, but it isn’t long before its parts start to wear.

The problem with “Prime Mover” might be that it isn’t quite sure which road it wants to travel on. It starts off as a tale of hope, slowly merges into action territory, takes a left turn down experimental lane (some wacky stuff there in the third-act, I’ll tell ya) and towards the end, starts to resemble a pre-Apocalyptic “Mad Max”.

Set in Dubbo, the film tells of a man’s relationship with his wife (Barclay) and his truck. She wants him to spend more time at home (especially when a bub arrives on the scene), but Thomas would rather put pedal to the metal.

Thomas’s life starts to spiral out of control due to constant inebriation and some nasty loan sharks (Ben Mendelsohn being one) who are hot on his tail.

This is a bit of a mixed-bag. Not only is it a bit all-over-the-place in terms of tone, but the wacky off-the-wall visuals that float into frame in the film’s second half near deters enjoyment. It’s like we drove into the tunnel in “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” and come out in Toon Town on the other sided.

In other words, the performances are what keeps this one moving. Michael Dorman and Emily Barclay, the stars of the acclaimed indy flick “Suburban Mayhem”, reunite to play very different characters than they played in the latter. And just as they were in that, they’re both excellent here. Wouldn’t be surprised to see either of them on an awards show ballot form in the near future.

In addition, the support cast includes impressive turns by the likes of William McInnes (hardly recognizable with a beard!) as employer Phil, Andrew Gilbert (“The Jammed”) as Thomas’s late father, and Ben Mendelsohn and Gyton Grantley (“Balibo”) as the, er, debt collectors. None of them have a hell of a lot to do, but the film’s better for filling these parts with such talent. Of all of them, McInnes has been thrown a bone with a little more meat on it; Mendelsohn, playing your token thug, not so lucky.