Mystery Road

Mystery Road is a 2013 Australian crime film written and directed by Ivan Sen. It was screened in the Special Presentation section at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. A sequel entitled Goldstone was released in 2016.
==Plot==
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One night, Jay observes his colleagues, Johnno and Robbo, visiting a suspicious building in the country. When they leave, he follows them. They stop and flag him down, and Johnno attempts to intimidate Jay, asking if he has ever killed anyone accidentally. Jay later asks his boss about Johnno and is told that Johnno had some unspecified trouble on his previous job in another location, but that he is close to making some big arrests.
Jay visits the Dusk till Dawn motel after hearing that Julie used to go there to sleep with truckers. When he asks the motel owner about frequent guests who stayed there on the night of Julie's death, she tells him about a white man registered under the name "William Smith", who drives a white hunting truck. Jay realizes it's the same truck he saw leaving Sam Bailey's farm earlier. He returns to Sam's farm where he encounters Smith who insults Jay, refuses to let him search his truck, and states that he works as a kangaroo hunter and is an expert shot. Jay goes back to the police station and searches for Smith's police record, but fails to find one. Instead he finds that Smith is actually Sam's son, Pete, a man with a long criminal record, and that Pete had last been arrested for drug possession by another local police officer who had recently been killed on the job. Jay visits the widow of the deceased police officer, who tells him that the officer had been called to work by another, un-named police officer on the night that he was killed.
The next day, Jay follows Johnno until he drives into an alley. Shortly afterward, Pete pulls out of the alley in his truck. Jay then follows Johnno to a rest stop where he meets up with a local drug dealer named Wayne Silverman. When Jay later goes to Wayne's house, Wayne flees, but Jay catches and arrests him. Under questioning, Wayne tells Jay that he deals drugs to local aboriginal girls and then prostitutes them out when they can't pay. He taunts Jay, by asking about Jay's daughter, Crystal. Wayne mentions that he stole a car that contained heroin, but he subsequently lost the drugs. Johnno interrupts the interrogation to release Wayne, who is his informant. Jay stakes out the suspicious building in the country, and sees a man in an orange car hand over Wayne to someone in a Land Rover. Jay later meets Johnno at a diner. Johnno ignores his questions, but states that he is looking for something that's missing. After Jay searches Julie's house and finds several bags of heroin, he calls Johnno to arrange a trade at a hill off Mystery Road.
When he arrives first for the exchange, Jay loads his hunting rifle and pistol. The orange car and Land Rover arrive for the exchange and Jay hands over the heroin, but a hidden shooter wounds Jay in the arm. A shootout ensues as Jay runs back to his car for cover. Jay sees Pete's truck in the distance, and Pete uses his hunting rifle to shoot at Jay. One of the men attempts to flank Jay but is shot by Johnno, who supports Jay with a scoped hunting rifle. Jay shoots several people dead, including a masked man revealed to be Robbo, the driver of the orange car. Pete and Johnno exchange long distance shots as Jay kills the rest of the criminals. As Pete flees, Jay spots Johnno's dead body. After disabling Pete's truck, the two exchange fire, and Jay kills Pete. In the Land Rover, Jay finds Sam in the back shot through the neck and scratch marks on the back of the front seat and a necklace with Julie's name on it.
At sunset, Jay returns to Winton and sees Mary and Crystal waiting for him. He gets out of the car, and the three stare at each other as the Sun sets.
==Cast==
* Aaron Pedersen as Detective Jay Swan
* Hugo Weaving as Johnno
* Ryan Kwanten as Pete Bailey/William Smith
* Tony Barry as Sarge
* Damian Walshe-Howling as Wayne Silverman
* Tasma Walton as Mary Swan
* Tricia Whitton as Crystal Swan, Jay's teenage daughter
* Robert Mammone as Robbo
* Bruce Spence as Jim, the local undertaker
* David Field as Sam Bailey
* Jack Thompson as Charlie Murray
* Samara Weaving as Peggy Rogers
* Roy Billing as Weapon Shop Owner
* Zoe Carides as Motel Owner
* Jack Charles as Jay's uncle
==Reception==
Mystery Road received positive reviews from critics and audiences, earning an approval rating of 91% on Rotten Tomatoes. Tom Clift of FILMINK called it a "masterfully executed slice of storytelling that rates as one of our finest films of the past few years." Sandra Hall of the The Sydney Morning Herald also gave a positive review, commenting that "Mystery Road's links to the classic Hollywood western are as obvious as its hero's cowboy boots and white hat but they do nothing to diminish its Australianness." Craig Mathieson of The Sunday Age called it a "deeply satisfying and slow-burning modern-day western set in outback New South Wales, Ivan Sen's outstanding film Mystery Road bridges the current divide in Australian cinema with a prominent and precise work."
Not all reviews were positive though. Alex Doenau of Trespass commented "There simply isn't enough dynamism to justify Sen's story. Australian movies have to work harder to secure audiences beyond those who go to them out of a sense of duty or worthiness; Mystery Road simply doesn't go that far."
The film was also a rare foreign screening at the 2014 Pyongyang International Film Festival.
===Accolades===
Award 	Category 	Subject 	Result
AACTA Awards(3rd) 	Best Film 	David Jowsey 	
AACTA Awards(3rd) 	Best Direction 	Ivan Sen 	
AACTA Awards(3rd) 	Best Original Screenplay	Ivan Sen 	
AACTA Awards(3rd) 	Best Actress 	Tasma Walton 	
AACTA Awards(3rd) 	Best Editing 	Ivan Sen 	
AACTA Awards(3rd) 	Best Sound 	Lawrence Horne 	
AACTA Awards(3rd) 	Best Sound 	Nick Emond 	
AACTA Awards(3rd) 	Best Sound 	Joe Huang 	
AACTA Awards(3rd) 	Best Sound 	Phil Judd 	
AACTA Awards(3rd) 	Best Sound 	Les Fiddess 	
AACTA Awards(3rd) 	Best Sound 	Greg Fitzgerald	
Asia Pacific Screen Awards 	Best Actor 	Aaron Pedersen 	
Australian Film Critics Association Awards	Best Film 	David Jowsey 	
Australian Film Critics Association Awards	Best Director 	Ivan Sen 	
Australian Film Critics Association Awards	Best Actor 	Aaron Pedersen 	
Australian Film Critics Association Awards	Best Supporting Actor 	Hugo Weaving 	
Australian Film Critics Association Awards	Best Supporting Actress 	Tasma Walton 	
Australian Film Critics Association Awards	Best Screenplay 	Ivan Sen 	
Australian Film Critics Association Awards	Best Cinematography 	Ivan Sen 	
Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards 	Best Film 	David Jowsey 	
Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards 	Best Director 	Ivan Sen 	
Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards 	Best Script 	Ivan Sen 	
Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards 	Best Actor 	Aaron Pedersen 	
Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards 	Best Actress 	Tasma Walton 	
Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards 	Best Supporting Actor 	Tony Barry 	
Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards 	Best Supporting Actor 	Hugo Weaving 	
Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards 	Best Cinematographer 	Ivan Sen 	
Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards 	Best Editing 	Ivan Sen 	
Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards 	Best Music 	Ivan Sen 	
Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards 	Best Production Design 	Matthew Putland	
==Sequel==
Ivan Sen wrote and directed a sequel to Mystery Road, entitled Goldstone. Aaron Pedersen reprises his role, and joining the cast is David Wenham, Alex Russell, David Gulpilil and Jacki Weaver.
==References==
==External links==
* 
* Mystery Road at Rotten Tomatoes
Category:2013 films
Category:2010s crime films
Category:Australian films
Category:Australian crime films
Category:English-language films
Category:Neo-Western films
Category:Films set in Queensland