FILMEX REVIEWS

‘FAST TALKING’

Australia, 1984 , 93 minutes . 5:30 p.m. Last year’s winner of the Australian Critic’s Circle prize can be readily appreciated as a contemporary “Rebel Without a Cause.” Writer-director Ken Cameron addresses the nature of delinquency among working-class kids without flinching and without the cushion of sentimentality. As a result, Steve (likably portrayed by Rod Zuanic)--the film’s central focus--comes off as a charmer with a scorpion’s sting. The film is steadfastly honest yet emerges as more cautious than depressing.

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