the combination (of excellent marketing and ordinary filmmaking)

Well, we can pretty much already give away the award for the most talked about Australian film of the year. I mean, in fairness, usually we just don’t talk about Australian films – we fund them and hope to God no-one sees where we threw the money. But Australian Lebanese gangster flick The Combination is special – it’s hooked into the zeitgeist and hit upon something very current and now. Above all things however, it’s marketed itself freakishly well. So far The Combination has been raking in the news coverage left, right and centre. It’s been generating heated comment, um, also from the left, right and centre and it’s even been accused of starting riots.

And all this for a movie that is actually not very good.

Okay, that’s not entirely fair. Lemme explain. The Combination takes place against the backdrop of the Cronulla Riots. It’s the tale of a Lebanese man (George Basha, also the writer) in Western Sydney who gets back from jail only to discover that his younger brother is shooting down the path that lead him to the big house. (Australian History X??). Meanwhile Basha falls in love with a white girl with racist parents and - judging by her acting ability - a penchant for horse tranquilizers.

I give this movie a serious A+ for ambition. And I mean that quite genuinely. The digital cinematography by Toby Oliver looks amazing. For my taste he's kinda the go-to guy for digital camerawork in Australia. I also LOVE the fact that we finally have a film about Western Sydney that focusses on the non-anlgo characters (Yes, West, Little Fish I’m looking at you). I can’t tell you how much it shits me that the closest thing we’ve come to a multicultural movie about Western Sydney was Footy Legends. There are also some elements within this movie that just pop. The way it captures of Lebanese culture – the dancing, the food, the family - is brilliant. The movie just springs to life when these moments come along. And there are a couple of standout performances. Doris Younane as the matriarch of the family gives a bloody heartbreaking performance, mind you; I’ve been in love with her since her old Campell Soup adverts, so I was always going to like her. 

The Combination is at it’s strongest when it’s a revenge flick, particularly towards the bloody climax. George Basha is appropriately named and I honestly think he makes for damn fine action hero material. As you drive towards the end there is a rage that sits just underneath everything that it’s palpable. 

But the thing I love best about this film? The Marketing. Just look at this trailer:


That actually looks like a movie I want to see. They haven’t shot small, they’ve aimed for a large audience and they’re fighting for it.

Ok, now for the Bad – of which there is much. Ok, so the movie uses a lot of non-professional actors, so a lot of the acting is clunky. Fair enough. But almost everything is clunky - the music by Labib (Jim) Jammal is repetitive and really could’ve used a little bit of well-placed emotive melody.

The bigger problem is that The Combination is just trying to do too much. And nowhere is that more evident than the interracial love story. I get why they wanted to include some heart in the film, but I’d sooner believe that Elvis was alive, well and working at Yagoona Maccas than I would believe the romance in The Combination. White-girl Clare Bowen is named “Sydney” – a plot point treated with all the nuance of a jackhammer being applied to one’s temple. Thankfully what subtlety the story lacks, Bowen makes up with her performance, which is so subtle she’s practically catatonic. I’ve seen more charisma come from people under general anesthetic. And George Basha? The guy looks like the nicest dude in the world, and I’m sure he is – but the spark just isn’t there for the romance. The worst though is Bowen’s parents who play cookie-cutter racists who aren’t just one-dimensional. They’re sharing half a dimension between them. My God, you have an amazing opportunity to examine why racism exists right in front of you? Do you try and explore it?? Nope! We’re gonna get them to do their Montague and Capulet shtick, stick their head in the sand and move on. WTF?

At the end of the day, I think it’s important that The Combination was attempted. It deals with issues that are relevant and important to our time and country – and over time, I suspect that it’ll become an important social document of Australia. I also think that the positive elements in this film are a pretty strong indication that George Basha and Director David Field have got some serious talent. I’d love to see what they come back with next, but for now The Combination only gets 2/5 from me. But hey, I'm just one voice, and I know this movie has lots of defenders, so please lemme know what you think of the film.