Australian
Screen

Clip description

John Woldring (William McInnes) visits the pub owned by Bob Potter (Bille Brown), who had earlier asked him if he’d seen his missing 'cleaner’ (Tahmeena). Noticing Potter is preoccupied with a customer he decides to snoop around upstairs, where he finds a bedroom with blood on a rug and bars on the windows. On the way down the corridor he’s confronted by Potter and, on the spur of the moment, John lies that he saw the missing woman getting into a truck on the highway.

Curator’s notes

This scene offers a good example of the film’s use of genre to amplify its universal elements. The akubra hat worn by Woldring seems to deliberately invite comparison with classic western heroes – often loners who reluctantly shouldered the responsibility to right wrongs in a small community. As he walks into the bar, it’s hard not to be reminded of a western hero walking into a saloon.

His snooping also brings to mind another archetypal hero of the cinema, the private investigator. That is, a ruggedly independent character who decides to get to the bottom of a grim mystery without relying on the official forces of law and order. What he finds in the room is circumstantial evidence that Tahmeena may have been held captive and assaulted there, and this intensifies his personal involvement and desire to protect her.

The scene ends with a crucial narrative event that will reverberate throughout the rest of the film. Caught by surprise by Potter, Woldring makes the mistake of volunteering that he saw the runaway girl getting into a truck on the highway. Later scenes will show that this admission has intensified Potter’s suspicions that John is harbouring Tahmeena.