It’s always a relief to see a new Australian movie that isn’t a quirky comedy, and Restraint is about as far from that as you can get. It’s a taut thriller about a couple on the run from the police who hide out in the country house of a posh agoraphobic – he’s so terrified of open spaces that taking him hostage is practically an afterthought and he couldn’t escape if he tried. This sets up the beginnings of a twisted, co-dependent relationship between the three of them where who has the upper hand isn’t as clear as it first seems. Twists and turns ensue. The three principals work well together, becoming inappropriately close as the days drag on even while scheming against each other for control. Travis Fimmel channels Brad Pitt at his most manic as the thuggish killer and Teresa Palmer as his partner brings a kind of naïve joy to her character’s attempts to pretend to be a rich society woman to fend off suspicion from the townsfolk. Stephen Moyer is simultaneously easy to identify with as the victim and just withdrawn enough to make you wonder what he’s hiding. Restraint is obviously made with a low budget, but being constrained to a single building and three actors for most of the action works in its favour. It’s competent and, up until the ending, relatively tight. Unfortunately it drops the ball at the climax. Whether it’s a blessing or a curse of DVDs there’s an alternate ending included that shows they actually had a conclusion that was more dramatic and better at tying up the loose ends, but for some reason second-guessed themselves and went with a weaker one instead.

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JODY MACGREGOR

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