Goldstone (film)

Goldstone is a 2016 Australian crime thriller film directed by Ivan Sen. It is a sequel to Mystery Road (2013) and stars Aaron Pedersen, Alex Russell, Jacki Weaver, David Wenham and David Gulpilil. It was released in Australia on 7 July 2016. According to the film's end credits, it was largely shot on location in the small town of Middleton, Queensland, Australia.

Goldstone
Theatrical release poster
Directed byIvan Sen
Produced by
  • David Jowsey
  • Greer Simpkin
Written byIvan Sen
Starring
Music byIvan Sen
CinematographyIvan Sen
Edited byIvan Sen
Production
company
Bunya Productions
Distributed byTransmission Films
Release date
Running time
110 minutes
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
Budget$2 million[3]
Box office$650,352[2]

Plot

Three years after exposing the corruption in his hometown of Winton, Queensland, the Indigenous detective Jay Swan is sent to the small mining town of Goldstone to find a missing Asian tourist. He is pulled over for driving under the influence by a young local cop, Josh, who informs the town's corrupt mayor, Maureen.

Jay is asleep in a motel caravan when it's shot up by two men, one with an eye patch. When Josh arrives, Jay tells him of his case.

Josh tells him the motel management is furious and wants Jay to leave. Josh takes him to a remote off-grid shelter.

Josh goes to the local mine, Furnace Creek, to meet with the mine's supervisor, Johnny, who attempts to bribe him to help Furnace Creek expand their operations. Johnny then meets with Maureen, who is trying to help him get approval from the local Aboriginal land council by bribing the land council's head, Tommy, to allow the use of the land.

Jay meets with a local Aboriginal elder, Jimmy, in his search for the missing Asian tourist. Jimmy leads him to Furnace Creek.

Jay sneaks past Furnace Creek's security checkpoint and observes several young Asian women disembarking from a plane and climbing into a van. The women are being forced into prostitution to pay off their debts. As Jay returns to his car, he is detained overnight by Furnace Creek security, and the next morning, Johnny attempts to intimidate him.

Upon returning home, Jay is visited by Josh, who tells him Maureen has summoned Jay to meet her for tea. Jay complies, and Maureen subtly warns him to stop his investigation.

Johnny and Maureen hold a press conference where they announce the mine's expansion and make an ostentatious show of having council approval. However, Jimmy walks out, denying them his signature of approval.

Jay receives an anonymous call and collects one of the girls' passports from the caller, then notices Josh's car. He follows Josh to the local creek, where Jimmy's body is hanging from a tree. Jay suspects foul play, but Josh states that Tommy witnessed the suicide.

Josh goes to the local bar/brothel, where the Asian girls are being kept. He befriends a prostitute called Mei and tells her to contact him if she needs help.

Tommy visits Josh, and confesses to killing Jimmy; he tells Josh about the corrupt activities of Maureen, Johnny, and the thugs who work as hitmen for Furnace Creek. Jay consults the man who found the passport and explores the area where it was found. There he finds a skeleton he assumes are the remains of the woman he was assigned to find.

Mei sees the thugs, including the one with an eye patch, arrive at the brothel and sends Josh a message requesting help. Josh, who was surveilling Maureen and Johnny, rushes to the brothel and discovers the women have disappeared. After interrogating the bartender, Josh is told they are in a trailer in the desert.

Josh first visits Maureen, who is anxiously shredding paperwork, and demands that she put him in touch with the head of the criminal operations. She reluctantly agrees to make the call.

Josh arrives at the trailer, seeking the women, but finds it empty. The thugs arrive, ambush Josh, and force him to dig his own grave. Jay, who has surreptitiously followed Josh, shoots at the thugs from a sniper's perch, incapacitating some and forcing them all to flee. Jay then enlists Josh to track down the thugs and rescue the women.

Jay and Josh drive at the Furnace Creek site and, after an intense shootout with the thugs, discover the women's whereabouts. Jay sees Johnny's plane fleeing the mines and chases it, while Josh finds and rescues the women.

Jay arrives at the airfield but is intercepted by a black armed guard, whose gunshots cause Jay's vehicle to crash while Johnny escapes. Jay and the guard stand off but decide to spare one another.

Later, at Jay's remote shelter, Josh tells Jay the federal authorities have taken over the case, retrieved the women, and begun an investigation into the corruption. Additionally, Maureen has skipped town.

Josh says he has requested a transfer to somewhere near the ocean where he can "shake off the dust" (corruption) of the outback. Jay bids him goodbye and drives away from Goldstone, into the desert, and retraces his visit with Jimmy to their ancestral site.

Cast

Release

The film had its premiere at the Sydney Film Festival on 8 June 2016.[1] It was released in Australia on 7 July 2016[2] and re-released on 2 March 2018.[5] Its release for Blu-ray and DVD sales took place on 11 September 2018.[6]

Reception

Box office

Goldstone grossed $87,639 in the United States and Canada and $562,713 in other territories for a worldwide total of $650,352,[2] plus $11,987 with home video sales,[6] against a production budget of $2 million.[3]

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 76% based on 37 reviews, with an average rating of 7.07/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Goldstone weaves socially conscious themes through its procedural thriller plot outline, with visually thrilling, solidly crafted results."[7] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 78 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[8]

Accolades
Award Category Subject Result
AACTA Awards
(6th)		 Best Film David Jowsey Nominated
Greer Simpkin Nominated
Best Direction Ivan Sen Nominated
Best Original Screenplay Nominated
Best Editing Nominated
Best Production Design Matt Putland Nominated
AFCA Awards Best Film David Jowsey Nominated
Greer Simpkin Nominated
Best Director Ivan Sen Won
Best Screenplay Nominated
Best Cinematography Nominated
Best Actor Aaron Pedersen Won
Best Supporting Actor David Gulpilil Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Jacki Weaver Won
ASSG Award Best Film Sound Recording Mike Bakaloff Won
Nick Emond Won
BFI London Film Festival Official Competition for Best Film Ivan Sen Nominated
FCCA Awards Best Film David Jowsey Won
Greer Simpkin Won
Best Actor Aaron Pedersen Won
Best Director Ivan Sen Won
Best Script/Screenplay Won
Best Editor Nominated
Best Cinematography Nominated
Best Music Won
Best Actress - Supporting Role Jacki Weaver Nominated
Sydney Film Festival Sydney Film Prize for Best Film Ivan Sen Nominated
Toronto International Film Festival Platform Prize Nominated

References
  1. "World Premiere of Australian Film Goldstone to open Sydney Film Festival 2016" (PDF). Sydney Film Festival. 8 June 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  2. "Goldstone (2016)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  3. "'Goldstone' Premieres in Queensland". Ausfilm. 29 June 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  4. Eddie Cockrell (8 June 2016). "Film Review: 'Goldstone'". Variety. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  5. "Goldstone (2018 Re-release)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  6. "Goldstone (2016) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  7. "Goldstone (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  8. "Goldstone Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
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