This Movie is Rated R – For Violence and Pervasive Language
This is an Australian movie that Heath Ledger starred in the same year he was in “10 Things I Hate About You“. The two films couldn’t be more different from each other (except for the fact that he has an Australian accent and dark hair in both). While “10 Things” is more of a romantic comedy, this one is a crime/thriller with dark comedy thrown in. It a great movie that really showcases his natural talent as an actor.
I still can’t watch one of his movies without being saddened by his tragic/pre-mature death. Hard to believe there will be only one more movie with him in it “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” (which reportedly is close to finalizing a deal for US release) and then that’s it. While I am looking forward to seeing it; I’m also dreading the finality of it.
Ok, back to “Two Hands”. Jimmy (Heath Ledger) is a young man trying to make a living in Sydney, Australia. It’s not an easy life. He works the door at a strip club at night and picks up extra money fighting (which he is very good at). His older brother has disappeared and he hasn’t talked to his mother in years. His dream is to find a job where he can do something with his hands, like fixing things or building things.
He gets what he thinks will be his big break when Pando (Bryan Brown), the local crime boss, asks him if he would like to do a job for him. It sounds pretty simple, drive to Bondi Beach and deliver $10,000 to a lady at the address he is given. In return, Jimmy makes $500. What could possibly go wrong? Apparently a lot.
Jimmy arrives at the apartment, but no one answers the door. He decides to go across the street to the beach and kill some time until she gets back. As he sits on the beach, he sees the back of a girl that resembles Alex (the sister of a friend of his) who he happens to be attracted to. You can guess what part of his body he starts thinking with (obviously not his brain). He discreetly buries the money in the sand and goes into the water after her. Turns out it wasn’t Alex and while he was gone two homeless kids dug up the money and run off with it (apparently he wasn’t as discreet as he thought).
Now he is out $10,000 and before long he will have a very pissed off Pando on his hands. Jimmy goes to a friend of his brother, Deirdre, for help. She is the brains behind a bank robbery operation. He convinces her to let him in on their next robbery so he can get the money he needs to pay Pando back and in turn not be killed.
Just when it seems like he is back on track and will be able to get himself out of trouble, he makes another bad decision. Related to Alex of course. Which finds him in an even worse predicament.
This is a great movie. Heath is wonderful in it, as is Bryan. I like how most of the characters have both good and bad elements to them, nothing is straightforward. You see that with Jimmy, getting into a life of crime even though he is a very sweet guy. You also see it with Pando. Even though he is vicious mob leader, he can also be a very nice guy. One such example is when he is at home doing origami with his son (it’s a cute scene).
I don’t want to say too much, because I don’t want to spoil it, but the bank robbery is fabulous. It’s one of those you have to see it to believe it scenes and one of my favorite parts of the movie.
Some of my favorite quotes:
Michael – “See, something that’s good can still have a little bit of bad in it and something that’s bad still has a bit of good.”
Michael – “One careless decision can affect the way the rest of your life will unfold.”
Jimmy – “Maybe I should just go and talk to him, he’ll probably understand.”
Deirdre – “Are you out of your head? He’ll kill you.”
Deirdre – “Just doing some work, Mum. Jimmy’s in the sh*t again.”
Deirdre – “Jimmy, this isn’t Playskool. We’re talking about robbing a bank.”
Alex – “You look good in photos.”
Jimmy – “Yeah, pity about in real life though, aye.”
Pando – “F*cking hell, mate. This gun’s f*cking filthy.”
Jan
Following is additional information about the show that contains spoilers. If you don’t want to be spoiled don’t read any further.
As I said above, I absolutely love the bank robbery scene. It’s his first bank job, but Jimmy is handling himself well. Then as Woz is jumping over the counter with the bags of money, he trips, falls and knocks himself out in the process. Jimmy is dumbstruck and not sure what to do. It is such a funny scene. I love how you can totally tell what’s going through Jimmy’s mind even though his face is covered by a ski mask. Heath was terrific.
The ending was fabulous. I loved how Pando and his boys ended up being so impressed with Jimmy and wanted him for more jobs. Which causes Jimmy to breakdown and start crying, but then he pulls a gun on Pando. However, instead of pulling the trigger he walks away. Even though he was devastated by all he went through, he proved he could stand up against them. The other thing Jimmy discovered about himself is that he is not a killer (even if the killing might seem justified).
