TL;DR – While it is an interesting scenario, and the cast is giving their all, you just can’t quite shake the feeling that the movie never finds its feet.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Warning – contains scenes that include multiple flashing lights.

Kid Snow Review –

There are a lot of factors that go into making a good film: the cast, the story, the idea, the production, or even the budget. While you don’t have to get all of them right, it does help because just one of these factors can hold a film back from its full potential. Today, we look at a movie that excels in many of these points, but the one that holds it back is like an anchor dragging along the ocean shore.

So, to set the scene, it is 1971, and in the small towns across the deep Outback of Australia, there is a rolling fair that comes to town, including a boxing ring. Run by Rory (Tom Bateman) and headlined by his brother Kid Snow (Billy Howle), along with a motley of other performers, they charge money to get the locals to fight them. If they win, there are riches, but let’s be honest: no one ever wins. This was going well, okay, at least they were surviving, but when Hammer (Tristan Gorey), a ghost from Kid Snow’s past and current Australian champion, returns to challenge him to a boxing match for real money, there is a chance of him reclaiming his past. But it might be the arrival of Sunny (Phoebe Tonkin) into their lives on the same night that will have more of an impact on their futures.     

While there were a lot of things that frustrated me, there are a lot of factors in this film that do stand out. To start with, congratulations to the locations team for finding some of the most picturesque parts of the world around Kalgoorlie – Boulder. The deep outback reds contrast very well in this film about those living on the outskirts of society. Visually, they get the style of Australia in the 1970s down pack with some lovely vintage cars and everyone wearing era-appropriate clothing, and also clothing that looks like it has been worn. It makes the world feel lived in.  

To add to this, I think the cast did a fantastic job with the roles that were handed to them. Hunter Page-Lochard and Mark Coles Smith bring more background to their roles than what was on the page, where you feel like they have rounder lives than just what is presented. I liked the much of the relationship between Kid Snow and Sunny, and while it progressed in a very straightforward manner and with a frustrating love triangle, it still works. Also, every moment Ed (Robert Taylor) was on screen was fascinating to watch, and I kind of wanted to see more of this character.

Alas, while this is all good, we need to get into the however section because no matter how good the cast and locations were, the film has one big issue: its narrative. Overall, we get a pretty good set-up for the film: tragedy in the past, some rigged boxing matches, and a champ looking to personally stamp out the one slight he sees in his backstory, while our scrappy hero sees one last chance at redemption. But while that creates a solid framework for the film, they never seemed to get the minutia of the narrative correct. Even before the credits came up at the end and the writers were listed, I could tell you this felt like too many chefs in one kitchen because you could feel the story getting pulled in so many different directions.

There are so many missed opportunities. For example, the story is all about this big redemption match framed in a way we might see in a Creed film, but then it all starts to feel like an afterthought as the movie progresses. Kid Snow wants to explore what it is like for people living on the edge of society. While it gives lip service to what all its Indigenous fighters would have gone through at that time, it doesn’t want to explore anything other than a surface-level single moment. Unfortunately, it just feels like a story being pulled from too many different directions and never finding its feet in the middle. It got to the point where I groaned when another establishing shot of nature went up because I think I was ready for it to end a lot sooner than the film did.    

In the end, do we recommend Kid Snow? While I did have frustrations with Kid Snow, some good moments brought me through. I also think it ended on the right note, which is probably what is making me look at the story in a much kinder light. If you liked Kid Snow, we would recommend to you The Rooster.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Have you watched Kid Snow?, let us know what you thought in the comments below, feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day. 

Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Kid Snow
Directed by – Paul Goldman
Screenplay by – John Brumpton, Stephen Cleary, Phillip Gwynne, Paul Goldman & Shane Sanielsen
Music by – Peter Knight & Warren Ellis
Cinematography by – Garry Phillips
Edited by – Sylvie Landra & Sean Lahiff
Production/Distribution Companies – Unicorn Films, Immaculate Conception Film, Wynn Media, VicScreen, ScreenWest, Screen Australia & Madman Entertainment
Starring – Billy Howle, Tom Bateman, Phoebe Tonkin, Jack LaTorre, Hunter Page-Lochard, Mark Coles Smith, Nathan Phillips, Shaka Cook, Robert Taylor, Tristan Gorey, Vito de Francesco, Tasma Walton, John Brumpton & Nick Britton with Phil Bennett, Anthony J. Sharpe, Sharon Thomas & Potch  
Rating – Australia: MA15+;