Australian Screen

Curator’s clip description

After shooting drug dealer Warren Lanfranchi (Alex Dimitriades), Roger Rogerson (Richard Roxburgh) celebrates with his police colleagues, including Bill Crofton (Gary Day) and Mal Rivers (Steve Jacobs), as well as criminal Neddy Smith (Tony Martin) – who is in less of a mood to celebrate. Under Rogerson’s orders, Smith took his friend Lanfranchi’s gun from him and brought him to the fateful meeting with Rogerson. Rogerson’s confidence may be premature: Lanfranchi’s girlfriend Sallie-Anne Huckstep (Loene Carmen) is about to tell all to journalist Ray Martin (Ray Martin) on 60 Minutes.

Curator’s notes

This wonderful monologue and its staging verge on the theatrical. Roxburgh’s gleefully amoral, attention-loving Rogerson has similar qualities to the Joker in Batman and the texture and atmosphere provided by mise en scène and support cast complete the effect. It’s one of several set-piece social events in Blue Murder that evoke a smoky, boozy decadence and blokey culture that seem to belong very much to these times. Production design, framing decisions and the use of a large cast fill the screen with information and help create the feeling that this world extends beyond what we see on screen.

The use of the 60 Minutes interview, with the real Ray Martin but with Carmen stepping into Huckstep’s shoes, ties the narrative in with real events on public record, albeit ones that we also saw originally through the camera lens.