Last Train to Freo
Last Train to Freo
| 14 September 2006 (USA)
Last Train to Freo Trailers

Two thugs from the Perth suburb of Midland catch the last train to Fremantle. When a young woman boards the train a few stops later, they begin talking and find out not everyone on the train is not who they seem to be.

Reviews
CommentsXp Best movie ever!
Brennan Camacho Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.
Marva-nova Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.
Staci Frederick Blistering performances.
zacoking This is a hidden gem of a film, one that I sadly missed at the theatre. Shot entirely in one carriage of a suburban train with only a few characters, it is almost entirely driven by crackling dialogue - no doubt both a legacy of the story's origin as stage play.The stand out of the film is a tour de force performance by Steve Le Marquand as the 'tall thug'. His swaggering, menacing, compelling performance is captivating to watch. He is well supported by Gigi Edgely who pulls off a difficult role with panache. The storyline twists and turns, and they mostly pull off what could easily have descended into farce.It's really all about Le Marquand though, who provides his character with megawatts of charisma, and it's remarkable that this spellbinding performance has not seen him picked up for starring roles in larger films.All in all an excellent film, well worth watching.
Sam Russell Being Australian, I keep a close eye out for Aussie films and am always willing to give them a chance. I must say that the film started off at a crawl and gradually picked up some momentum which kept me watching. The film continued to pick up momentum but fell flat at the ending.The story follows two men, young Trev, a deadbeat no-hoper teenager from the street and his tall unnamed thug associate recently released from prison as they call the last train from Perth to Freo in the early hours of the morning. Eventually three more people get on the last train to Freo, and some interesting revelations about these characters are revealed.The acting isn't too bad and the dialogue was quite fresh and uniquely Australian. But at the end of the day, nothing happens. The film continues to build momentum throughout - revelations are made and the main thug becomes more aggressive and we wait in anticipation to see the outcome. But the film does not take the next step. Some may applaud the film for doing this, but not me because it meant the film was completely devoid of anything happening. The concept was interesting, but it seemed the writers didn't know where to take it. Nor did I feel that the film made any relevant commentary on society which it attempts to do.Its disappointing because this film was quite an interesting concept but the result is forgettable.
SamuelHW I saw this film the other day on a Qantas flight back to London from Sydney. If anyone has ever done the flight then you'll know how tedious it is, but I decided to explore some of the more obscure films that were provided and was rewarded with this little gem. Featuring only five characters and very little action, it manages to keep you hooked through great dialogue and interesting characters which are well acted. In fact, it is reminiscent of a Harold Pinter or Samuel Beckett play, bearing more than a few resemblances to "Waiting For Godot" and the like. It creates tension and keeps you guessing throughout through character development and conversation, rather than showy special effects and cheap thrills. At times it drags, but this is a minor flaw and overall it's well worth checking out, proving that there's more to Australian media than Neighbours and Home And Away. Good stuff
Paul Martin This was an interesting film with some unusual elements. It's a story in real time and it has some real tension to it. I thought the characters were going to be caricatures, but was pleasantly surprised to find that mostly they were authentic.The film is based on a play, and at times this seemed evident (particularly the weaknesses). But because the story was original and different, it had a freshness and vitality to it.There were some minor contrivances and implausibilities in the first hour that I could easily overlook because of the strength of the performances and the genuine tension. The setting within an all but deserted train carriage was claustrophobic and chilling. For me, the film took a turn for the worse after an hour, that lead to aspects that just didn't ring true.Overall, it was a job well done by Jeremy Sims as first-time director, and worth seeing in one of the best years in Australian cinema for a very long time. There's been a great diversity of interesting stories. From the actors, I found the performances of Steve Le Marquand, Tom Budge and Gillian Jones the strongest. Gigi Edgeley was good but not consistent (perhaps that's the fault of the script).On a final note, for the life of me, I can't understand the Office of Film and Literature Classification's "MA" (equivalent to "R" in the US) on this film. Yes, there is a little violence and coarse language – but with the Hollywood shoot-em-ups that get through on an "M" rating, I can't see why this shouldn't also.