PAWNO

Don’t let the title of this film fool you – really, don’t. This is an unpolished gem of independent Australian cinema.

On an unassuming day in a dusty old pawnbroker’s store, world weary owner Les (John Brumpton, Romper Stomper) and his reserved employee Danny (Damian Hill) watch on as the very best and worst of human experiences collide and tangle around them.

Pawno harks back to the uniquely Australian, character driven larrikinism of The Castle, whilst drawing loose associations with the indie brilliance and oscillating cast of characters typified in cult-favourite He Died With A Falafel In His Hand.

But Pawno reaches a level of sophistication that many independent films often fall short of. An especially impressive accomplishment considering that many of the creative team are first-timers when it comes to working on a production of this scale – from debut director Paul Ireland to screenwriter and lead actor Damian Hill.

The pacing of this film is amongst its greatest achievements. A love letter to the Melbourne suburb of Footscray, Pawno is a seemingly endless tapestry of scenery and people of all creeds and colours (including blue). Carried by an authentic musical score – punctuated by the contrasting innocence of the ukulele-strumming girl singing Vance Joy’s ‘Riptide’ amongst alleyways of bold graffiti – this kaleidoscopic plot manages to never feel too muddled or too lingering.

You may assume that a bespoke film about a particular suburb of Melbourne – a city that has become awash in gentrified modern folklore about its ‘hipster’ culture – would fall into trappings of self-parody. But the blokes who pass their time in Les’ pawnshop furrow their brows in disdain at the high-rise apartments across the road, muttering – “f*****g c****s”.

While Danny’s bumbling, fledgling romance serves as the through line for this film, the peripheral love stories and heartbreaks provide a great, stewing depth of emotion – from a tormented mother (Kerry Armstrong, Lantana), to transgender parent Paige (Daniel Frederiksen), and the unlikely show stealers – a pair of perfectly mismatched homeless addicts portrayed by Malcolm Kennard (The Matrix Reloaded) and Mark Coles Smith (who leapt off the screen in Last Cab to Darwin).

Pawno is an unforced showcase of the diversity and multiculturalism of modern Australia – and in my humble opinion it deserves iconic status. (AM)

****

Limited release, see pawnomovie.com