Justin Kurzel's True History of the Kelly Gang opens with a disclaimer stating "Nothing you're about to see is true" before revealing a closeup of the legendary bushranger Ned Kelly (1917's George MacKay) scribbling his story down for his child, swearing "it will contain no single lie, may I burn in hell if I speak false" in voiceover. The message is clear enough: much like the Peter Carey novel it adapts, the film serves to allow Kelly to write his own legend, as a way of getting at deeper truths without worrying about the facts. However, in actual motion, the movie is uncertain whether it wants to be a grimy deconstruction of the Australian folk hero or a punk-rock celebration of his myth, and (frustratingly) settles for being something in-between. For all its stylized flourishes and raw performances, True History of the Kelly Gang's confused narrative prevents it from fully taking off.

Picking up in Australia circa 1867, the film is divided into three sections. In the first, titled "Boy", a young Ned (Orlando Schwerdt) comes of age under the care of his dirt-poor family and sex worker mother, Ellen (Essie Davis), before she sells him off to Harry Power (Russell Crowe), an unscrupulous bushranger who sets Ned on the path to becoming a bandit. The second, titled "Man", finds Ned (now played by MacKay) as an angry young man who comes into conflict with a devious constable named Fitzpatrick (Nicholas Hoult) before discovering he hales from the Sons of Sieve, a long line of Irish rebels who wear frocks to confound their enemies. Finally, in the third segment "Monitor" (a reference to Ned's use of makeshift bullet-proof armor to battle the police), Ned embraces his criminal destiny and leads a small army to fight back against the English oppressors who rule his country with an iron fist.

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Orlando Schwerdt and Essie Davis in True History of the Kelly Gang
Orlando Schwerdt and Essie Davis in True History of the Kelly Gang

In many ways, True History of the Kelly Gang has the same strengths and weaknesses as Kurzel's last film, the video game adaptation Assassin's Creed. Both marry striking visuals and slick cinematography (here, shot by Ari Wegner) with an underwhelming (anti)hero's journey and convoluted storytelling, resulting in a movie that often plods along even as it aims to be an intense slow-burn experience punctuated by moments of pure brutality, be it physical and/or emotional. Structurally, Kurzel and his Snowtown Murders writer Shaun Grant seem to be trying to imitate the style of Carey's source material, which avoids using proper grammar and punctuation to better reflect Ned's voice. But in doing so, the movie struggles to realize Ned's arc from boy to bandit in a satisfying fashion, resulting in many a scene where it's unclear why Ned is choosing to do or not do something. By the end, True History of the Kelly Gang comes up short in its efforts to provide a deeper understanding of who Ned is and why he did what he did, even after telling his story using (literally) his own words.

Like Kurzel's previous films, there's a sense of artistry to True History of the Kelly Gang which helps to smooth out some of the wrinkles. The movie's vision of the Australian badlands is gorgeously stark and it knowingly combines authentic historical details (largely courtesy of Karen Murphy's tactile production design) with anachronistic moments of hyper-stylization to bring Ned's tale to life in a decidedly post-modern manner (complete with a soundtrack by Jed Kurzel that incorporates actual wailing into the movie's sound and fury). Yet, with all its flair, the film's critique of the pain and suffering inflicted by colonialism feels as half-baked as Ned's character arc and offers limited insight into Australia's history of oppression for anyone who isn't already knowledgeable about the subject. Had True History of the Kelly Gang made its style and substance one and the same, this might've not been a problem; instead, it unfolds as a collection of shiny surfaces with limited depth.

Russell Crowe in True History of the Kelly Gang

It's too bad since the acting in True History of the Kelly Gang is compelling on its own. Davis, much like she did in The Babadook, paints a darker and more complicated portrait of motherhood with her turn as Ellen and MacKay once again proves his bonafides in a role that, like his turn in 1917, is both physically strenuous and often requires him to emote with sparse dialogue (aside from his voiceover narration). Crowe is equally engaging as one of Ned's bad father-figures, as is Charlie Hunnam as Sergeant O'Neill, yet another one of the despicable yet powerful men who exploits Ellen and her family for his self-serving purposes. Hoult, for his part, appears to have settled into a niche playing dastardly men between his role here and The Favourite, and even Thomasin McKenzie (Jojo Rabbit) makes the most of a bit part as Ned's wife Mary. With so much ground to cover, though, the movie typically only manages to draw broad stretches of most of its characters, leaving it to the cast to try and fill in the blank space.

Over the course of two hours, True History of the Kelly Gang packs in a whole lot of brooding atmosphere, emotional turmoil, bloodshed, gruff-voiced pontificating, and more shirtless men getting pummeled than you can shake a stick at... which is why it seems a tad strange to say its biggest sin is being kind of a slog to sit through. Had it gone all the way with its savagely lyrical approach and abandoned any pretense of examining how the Ned Kelly legend came to be (or vice versa), it might've avoided landed in an unsatisfying middle ground. Sadly, that's not the case, and the end result in a film that, for all it does well, doesn't quite work. Still, there could be a divide in opinions about this one; some may find it to be the rollicking epic it fancies itself as, while others see it as a loud and flashy, yet otherwise hollow bit of history-turned folklore. Maybe that's exactly how Ned Kelly would've wanted it.

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True History of the Kelly Gang is now available on digital and On Demand. It is 124 minutes long and is rated R for strong violence throughout, bloody images, pervasive language, sexual content and some nudity.