The Castle - DVD Review

'as Darryl's ire that the 'law of bloody common sense' can't be used in Australian courtrooms builds, the film's righteous indignation in defence of the Australian everyman does too'

Apparently rather well-liked in its native Australia (the press material claims it as 'the most popular Australian comedy of all time') The Castle is the tale of Darryl Kerrigan's (Michael Caton) bid to stop his home being taken from him by the airport who want to turn it into 'the world's biggest driveway'. If that setup seems familiar then so will the film although director Rob Sitch isn't one to let a stock plot get in the way of a few well planned jokes.

The second half of The Castle in particular is a joy of gentle situation comedy perked up by some much-needed swearing from Caton's fantastic creation. As Darryl's ire that the 'law of bloody common sense' can't be used in Australian courtrooms builds, the film's righteous indignation in defence of the Australian everyman does too. It is support of the softly-softly kind only (there's no real moral message contained within) but the fact that The Castle puts up a strong showing for working class Australians makes it much easier to warm to, especially given that The Kerrigans, charming and family-centred, are the method through which the warmth is delivered.

The script, written by Sitch and other contributors, is full of highlights but returns to the well of repetition one too many times. Narrated by youngest son Dale (Stephen Curry) there are too many occasions when we hear something along the lines of 'he reckoned we were the luckiest family in the world' only for a character then to say 'you know what Dale, I reckon we're the luckiest family in the world'. It's funny once. It's not funny the sixth or seventh time it happens. Moments such as the discussion of Darryl's favourite television show or the well set up joke about passing notes in the courtroom keep the quota of good-to-poor jokes ticking over though and there's enough here to guarantee several chuckles before the end credits role.

Ultimately The Castle is probably a film that will improve on repeat viewings. On first watch it's too easy to be distracted by the low-budget (technically the film is awful) and occasional appearances by Eric Bana, who is by far and away the most famous component of the cast. Post-screening though, it's much easier to recall the better moments of scripting and Caton's mastery of his character. Worth checking out, especially for those bored by Hollywood's current crop of mainstream comedies.

The Castle is out on DVD in the UK on Monday 25th July 2011.

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'The movie's comic foundation is the cozy if spectacularly insular family life of the Kerrigans. They think almost as one.' - Roger Ebert, 3/4