The Defector (2018) Reviews

• mesmerizing

  myriamlenys2018-01-12

  Wonderfully atmospheric and stylish short, both an homage to, and a spoof of, Cold War spy dramas à la LeCarré. The beginning of the movie reminds one of a really faithful, really meticulous LeCarré adaptation - think BBC at its best - and then gradually ever more uncanny elements creep in. The finale is deeply disquieting, proving once again that horrors hinted at are more frightening than horrors explained. Nice, natural performances and very high production values.

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• Solid little political thriller

  Horst_In_Translation2018-01-17

  "The Defector" is a pretty new Australian English-language short film (2017) that was written and directed by Scott Mannion. It runs for 14 minutes (without credits) and takes a genuinely mysterious look at Australia's political history and one of the country's Prime Ministers during the Cold War period. All in all, I enjoyed the watch here. The acting was solid and it wasn't a problem that none of the actors were known, at least not to me. The plot is interesting and works well given the runtime and so are the characters. And the atmospheric take adds a special note to it as well. All in all, here we got a well-rounded effort that never looks cheap and many short film directors can learn a lot from it I'd say. Maybe real greatness has not been reached here, but it is a pretty good way to spend a quarter of an hour, especially for Australians of course, but also for everybody else who understands the English language. Watch this one, you will not be disappointed. Thumbs up.

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• Stunning take on an Australian mystery

  greg-037532018-10-12

  Quiet possibly the best short I have seen. Well directed and beautifully fulmed

• Menacing. Mannion's a serious cinematographic talent

  Retrocognition2018-08-19

  Menacing. If The Defector was any single emotion, it would be pure, unfiltered sense of menace. Like a bus with that might or might not carry a suicide bomber, this short film expertly racks up the tension without doing too much. Instead, it allows its conflicting ideas to battle in the mind of the viewer. Who is justified in his action and who is the real menace? Defector leaves the audience guessing as the story quickly moves through its plot. There is no doubt that Mannion possesses some serious cinematographic talent and potentially someone who can join people like David Michôd and Zak Hilditch. I hope he gets a chance to try this as soon as possible. The film follows the real-life figure of Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt as he engages with his security chiefs about the Reds, individuals suspected of working against the state. However, Holt has his own agenda and begins to explore one of the secret threads, culminating in a single night of dangerous confrontation, which the film depicts. Created by Scott Mannion, the film shows the power of a precisely executed thriller, combined with a modest layer of science fiction. As the film unravels, this layer begins to fill up, but still thankfully remains neither naive nor pretentious. On the other hand, the visual style of Defector, like its superb cast, especially Sean Taylor as Holt, is spot on. The decor and fashion of 1960's offer a great backdrop to the mystery of the real life death of this figure. All of these elements resemble movies like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, telling a story of incredibly dangerous men who decide the fate of the world and still manage to look like everyday bureaucrats. These gray and almost faceless persons (even though this changes later on as well) are ideal personification of this menace. -Onlinesportz

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