SAVAGE
Stan
WRITER-director Sam Kelly's gritty drama Savage takes a Shakespearean tragedy and inserts it in the brutal world of New Zealand gangs.
You won't see any of the majestic natural beauty the Land of the Long White Cloud is known for here, rather the bleak and dark underbelly of violence, abuse and poverty.
The story is told over three time frames - 1965, 1972 and 1989 - to illustrate how a timid farm boy named Danny morphed into the menacing Damage, the enforcer and sergeant-in-arms of violent street gang, the Savages.
Danny experiences extreme violence at home from his father before he's sent to a juvenile facility for stealing. There Danny experiences both physical and sexual abuse, but forms a close bond with a Tongan New Zealander, Moses.
The story then continues in 1972 when Moses creates his street gang the Savages with Danny. At first Danny is reluctant to enter the violent brotherhood when it pits him against his real-life brother, but eventually he embraces their destructive tendencies.
When we reach 1989 the middle-aged Danny is a hulking brute, masked with face tattoos that read "Poneke", while never explained in the film is the Maori word for Wellington.
Moses' grip on the Savages' presidency is being challenged by a younger generation hungry for power and money, and Damage is caught between protecting his old friend and withdrawing from the increasingly violent gang life.
Savage is a challenging watch. If you took out the F and C-bombs there would be almost no dialogue. That leaves Australian actor Jake Ryan to communicate his suppressed pain and vulnerability through his penetrating stare that conjures up comparisons with Russell Crowe's iconic performance in Romper Stomper.
Damage can't even forgo his physical control momentarily to become intimate with his love interest, Flo (Chelsie Preston Crayford).
Savage is beautifully shot and the intensity rarely subsides. However, where Kelly fails is he never breaks down Damage's nihilistic streak long enough for the viewer to witness the character on a deeper level.
DEVILS
Binge
UNLESS you're the type who actually understands what the Nasdaq and All Ords mean in the nightly finance news report, the world of investment banking would appear an unlikely environment for an interesting TV series.
However, financial thriller Devils proves it can be more exciting than dollars and cents.
From the outset, the environment of New York London Investment Bank (NYL) is framed as a roller coaster world of workaholics, eschewed loyalties, high-rolling tastes and enough backroom plotting to make Game Of Thrones feel like a kindergarten scrap.
The story follows ambitious Italian trader Massimo Ruggero (Alessandro Borghi) who has just made $250 million in profit for NYL from speculative trading during the GFC.
Everyone expects Massimo to be promoted to vice-CEO, despite his political enemies within the company. However, when his supposed mentor and company CEO Dominic Morgan (Patrick Dempsey) overlooks him for a promotion, it sets off a dramatic chain of events, including the death of Massimo's main rival.
If you can get past the dry financial speak, Devils is worth persevering.
