Australian
Screen

an NFSA website

The Bet (2006)

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clip 'May the best man win'

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

Clip description

In a harbourside bar, stockbroker Will (Matthew Newton) joins friends for a drink. Angus McFarlane (Aden Young) tells everyone about their bet – who can make the most money in 90 days, for a prize of $100,000. Will asks Benno (Tim Richards) to be the umpire. Angus’s girlfriend Lila (Peta Sergeant) wonders if the bet is fair. When Will is walking the beautiful lawyer Tory (Sibylla Budd) to a cab, she tells him he’s crazy. She encourages Will’s obvious desire to ask her out.

Curator’s notes

The film uses these beautiful time lapses at various stages in the first half, possibly to suggest not just the beauty of the city, but the sense of a man in a hurry – which Will certainly is. John Gray’s lush orchestral score adds to that air of expectation. The bar is full of young, beautiful people with money – a smorgasbord for the ever-chasing Benno, and an opportunity for Will to get close to the woman he desperately wants to get to know – Tory. At this stage in the film, the sense of hope and optimism is very strong. The world is not just an oyster for these people – it’s a full seafood banquet.