Australian
Screen

an NFSA website

Dead-end Drive-in (1986)

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clip 'This is all we’ve got'

Original classification rating: M. This clip chosen to be PG

Clip description

The drive-in detainees become angry when Asians arrive. Jimmy (Ned Manning) argues with Carmen (Natalie McCurry) about her reaction to the newcomers. He asks her to escape with him.

Curator’s notes

In this well-written passage, Dead-end Drive-in shows it has a social conscience. Jimmy rejects Carmen’s fear of the new Asian arrivals; her attitude seems no different from the angry mob outside. He is the ‘unbreakable’ prisoner who has been unjustly jailed and cannot be swayed from his desire to escape and experience real life ‘out there’. A widescreen action expert, Trenchard-Smith generates visual excitement and psychological tension as the drive-in’s long term residents come face-to-face with people they fear without rational reason.