Region 2 DVD Release
John (Karyo) is a Frenchman living in Papua New Guinea, haunted by the death of his wife a few years previous, he runs a small cinema for the locals. While in Melbourne, stocking up on movies, he meets and falls in love with Kate (Griffiths); who bears more than a passing resemblance to his dead wife. A romance blossoms and he persuades her to come live with him in the jungle.
Time passes and it becomes clear that John is on the brink of insanity. He starts drinking heavily and becomes obsessed with his dead wife, projecting her onto Kate. Kate begins to investigate the mystery surrounding the death of John’s wife while John’s behavior grows more and more violent.
John Hillcoat’s (The Proposition) jungle thriller is an interesting movie, flawed, but ambitious. The two leads are gripping and Tcheky Karyo’s performance is intense yet sympathetic; it’s a tough role to nail, yet he has managed to make it believable. Where the film fails though is in its writing. John’s slippery decent into madness feels rushed in the second half, after such a build up of tension and threat its disappointing that they didn’t allow more time to his mental break down.
Beautiful cinematography and a brilliant score by Nick Cave help make To Have And To Hold easy on the eyes and ears. It may not be as memorable as his other works, but John Hillcoat has made a little gem here that fans of his other work will appreciate.
While not on the level of his debut, Ghosts… of the Civil Dead, or his latest masterpiece The Proposition, To Have And To Hold is a solid effort that fans of character driven movies will appreciate. A strong opening half is let down slightly by a rushed finale, but the overall experience is a rewarding one. It’s a please seeing Tcheky Karyo get a lead role in a movie that really puts his acting chops a real challenge.
