Malcolm [PG]

When he loses his job at the tram station, sweet and slow-witted Malcolm begins burning through his savings at a rate that causes the need for him to get a boarder. The rough-talking ex-con Frank arrives on his doorstep, bringing along his lover Judith. At first the three are on shaky terms, but soon Malcolm’s exceptional talent for building things and Frank’s flare for robbing banks inspire the three of them to join forces and become a classic, uncatchable trio of crims. 

This film is a classic example of what you can do with only half a plot. Seriously, this movie was half a movie and half a movie did the trick! When you can execute something like this in the way that this film did, there’s no need for convoluted exposition and a big chunk of overdrawn closure. An underappreciated little sleeper of Australian cinema, Malcolm sits amongst those quirky films that manage to go in under the radar. It’s really lovely and sweet. 

When he loses his job at the tram station, sweet and slow-witted Malcolm begins burning through his savings at a rate that causes the need for him to get a boarder. The rough-talking ex-con Frank arrives on his doorstep, bringing along his lover Judith. At first the three are on shaky terms, but soon Malcolm’s exceptional talent for building things and Frank’s flare for robbing banks inspire the three of them to join forces and become a classic, uncatchable trio of crims. 

Admittedly the story is a bit slow to start off. It begins at a bit of a crawl and doesn’t really gain momentum until you’re given a proper taste of what Malcolm is capable of creating: a car that can split in half and still be driven! Seriously when this tiny yellow car opened up down the middle, that’s when I thought ‘oh ok this is something different’. 

What’s really quite lovely about this movie is the fact that the characters themselves remain these sorts of enigmas and we’re left to fill in the gaps of them. We never actually get told if Malcolm is autistic (though we come to the conclusion ourselves), we never really get a grip on what Frank’s deal is, and pretty much everything that takes place seems to be completely random. This all sounds like a negative, but the way in which the actors play their characters, the editing, the direction, and the music all work together to make this a wonderfully strange and cute little slice of intrigue that ends on a lovely lingering note. 

The quirky little designs that Malcolm comes up with are reason enough to give this movie a shot. We’ve got bank robberies happening by remote control aided by no more than toys, video cameras, and garbage cans! I can’t really go into it further without really spoiling the film so I would recommend that you get yourself a copy and watch it if your interest has in any way been piqued. 

Starring Colin Friels, Lindy Davies, Chris Haywood, John Hargreaves, Beverley Phillips, Judith Stratford, Heather Mitchell, and Charles ‘Bud’ Tingwell, Malcolm is a sweet little movie filled with action, drama, strange relationships, and comedy. Whilst it may start at a bit of a crawl, it does gain momentum and takes shape as this delightfully quirky little bit of cinema.