The Magician

Melbournian hit-man Ray Shoesmith likes to debate with his victims such questions as Wayne Carey's moral culpability or whether or not Clint Eastwood appeared in The Dirty Dozen. We know this because he's being filmed by a documentary team, the footage to be released a la Pauline Hanson in the event of his early death. While this may sound a familiar scenario, actor-writer-star Scott Ryan has a gift for the Aussie vernacular that makes his remarkable debut, made without funding agency dollars, closer to Chopper than Reservoir Dogs or Man Bites Dog. Destined for long-term cult status, this is that all-too rare thing - true guerrilla filmmaking, viscerally edgy yet peppered with gut-wrenchingly funny dialogue.