Noise (2007) NR - 3 Stars

Personally I have experience a ringing in the ears for almost a month so I know how annoying it can become when you can't shut your brain off due to the noise and struggle to not think everything you hear sounds alien to you. Our star is an Australian policeman, with tinnitus (ringing of the ears.) Because his life is made up of confusion, with the noise playing out in his head, the movie choose to add that effect to drive the viewer mad too. It's not crazy mad, it just gets annoying to listen to, as I'm sure it does to anyone that has tinnitus. Thus the title of the movie.

One night a young girl, Lavinia Smart (Maia Thomas), is taking the train home with her new prize possession, a photo just framed of herself. When she enters the train, she finds it filled with a gruesome murder scene. Though she sees the killer, and even has a gun put to her head, the murderer spares her and flees with her photo instead. Since her name is on the photo and she can identify the man, she fears for her safety as she thinks she was spared only for the killer to come back and finish her off.

At the same time, Melbourne police officer, Graham McGahan (Brendan Cowell), has a hard time concentrating on his work as a patrolman with all the noise going on inside his head. He collapses while riding the escalator and is taken to the hospital. When released, his commander feels he is no good anymore to his squad and assigns him to a desk in a trailer in a quiet community that sees little action. His girlfriend Constable Caitlin Robinson (Katie Wall) and he are fighting constantly and he takes a liking to Lavinia as he gets information about her case. He starts to take her seriously when the killer leaves a message, while returning the photo to his quite office. Christmas Eve alone, Graham will have to overcome his tinnitus to determine what is real and what is noise, when the murderer confronts him at his doorsteps.

THINKFilm
Director: Matthew Saville
Writer: Matthew Saville
Producer: Trevor Blainey

I viewed 8/08