The Tender Hook

This 1920s gangster thriller (admittedly a rare beast in Oz film) has a great cast, good production values, but a poor script.

Gang boss Hugo Weaving is over-nasty as pathological mob boss and Rose Byrne is attractive as his seductive but confused moll, but her character is also under-developed. The story revolves around aspiring boxer Matt Le Nevez whom Weaving manipulates for his own profit.

The film is melodramatic, as Weaving overdoes the nastiness, and violence, but the ending redeems the film somewhat. The production looks good, with nice period sets and costuming, and the film has a good noir-ish look.

The film contains some amusing 20s jazz crooner version of Cohen and Dylan songs.