''Two Hands'' is a 1999 Australian

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combin ...

written and directed by

Gregor Jordan Gregor Jordan (born 1966) is an Australian film director. Jordan's films include '' Two Hands'' (1999), ''Buffalo Soldiers'' (2001), and '' Ned Kelly'' (2003). ''Two Hands'' won the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Direction and Best Sc ...

. The film stars

Heath Ledger Heath Andrew Ledger (4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008) was an Australian actor and music video director. After playing roles in several Australian television and film productions during the 1990s, Ledger moved to the United States in 1998 to ...

as Jimmy, a young man in debt to Pando, a local gangster played by

Bryan Brown Bryan Neathway Brown AM (born 23 June 1947) is an Australian actor. He has performed in over eighty film and television projects since the late 1970s, both in his native Australia and abroad. Notable films include '' Breaker Morant'' (1980), ...

, and also stars

Rose Byrne Mary Rose Byrne (born 24 July 1979) is an Australian actress. She made her screen debut in the film ''Dallas Doll'' (1994), and continued to act in Australian film and television throughout the 1990s. She obtained her first leading film role i ...

, David Field, and

Susie Porter Susie Porter (born 1970 or 1971) is an Australian television, film and theatre actress. She made her debut in the 1996 film '' Idiot Box'', before rising to prominence in films including '' Paradise Road'' (1997), ''Welcome to Woop Woop'' (1997) ...

. It won the

Australian Film Institute Award for Best Film The AACTA Award for Best Film is an award presented by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA), a non-profit organisation whose aim is to "identify, award, promote, and celebrate Australia's greatest achievements in film and ...

in 1999. It was filmed in 1998 but was not released in Australia until 29 July 1999. Before its release, it was screened at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,6 ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

but was not released to DVD in the US until December 2005. At the

ARIA Music Awards of 1999 The 13th Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as the ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAS) was held on 12 October 1999 at the Sydney Entertainment Centre. Hosted by Paul McDermott and Bob Downe, and present ...

the soundtrack was nominated for Best Original Soundtrack Album.ARIA Award previous winners.

Plot

Jimmy, while working as bouncer at a strip club in Kings Cross, is approached by local mob boss Pando who says he has work for him. Pando gives Jimmy $10,000 to deliver to a woman in Bondi, and when she appears not to be home, he goes for a swim on the beach. Unfortunately the $10,000 is stolen by two

street kids Street children are poor or homeless children who live on the streets of a city, town, or village. Homeless youth are often called street kids or street child; the definition of street children is contested, but many practitioners and policymak ...

while he is swimming, leaving him heavily indebted to the furious Pando and his gang. The street kids, Pete (Evan Sheaves) and Helen (Mariel McClorey), go on a spending spree with their newfound wealth. The car Jimmy was using on the job—a

Ford Falcon Ford Falcon is an automobile nameplate applied to several vehicles worldwide. * Ford Falcon (North America), an automobile produced by Ford from 1960 to 1970. * Ford Falcon (Argentina), a car built by Ford Argentina from 1962 until 1991. * For ...

belonging to Pando's associate Acko—is stolen by a young man and taken to a mechanic with the intention of selling it. The mechanic happens to be a friend of Acko's, who, displeased at the news of his car being stolen, suspects Jimmy's involvement. Acko arrives to recover the car but on the way there his car hits and kills street kid Pete. Helen watches in disbelief as Acko simply picks the dead boy's body off the street and dumps it in the gutter, concerned more about the damage to his car. He drives off leaving Helen alone, crying by her dead friend. Jimmy comes up with a plan to pay off the debt by robbing a bank the next day in

Bankstown Bankstown is a suburb south west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is located in the local government area of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, hav ...

along with two others. The night before he arranges to meet new friend and love interest Alex (

) at a pub. Unfortunately the meeting's arrangements are heard by Les, a friend jealous of Alex's attraction to Jimmy and keen to get in with Pando's gang. After Les informs the gang of the couple's whereabouts, Jimmy is forced to flee the pub with Alex, attempting to escape on the Sydney Monorail, however the escape proves unsuccessful and Jimmy is taken to a remote location where the gang plan to kill him. Through the indirect intervention of Jimmy's dead brother (who acts as a guardian angel figure throughout the film), Jimmy is able to escape and make his way back home to prepare for the bank robbery. The robbery is not without its problems. When returning with the cash bags, one of the men attempts to jump over the bank counter, but fails and lands unconscious on the bank floor. He is dragged by Jimmy into the car, and comes round just as the police begin shooting and returns fire. The

getaway driver A crime scene getaway is the act of fleeing the location where one has broken the law. It is an act that the offender(s) may or may not have planned in detail, resulting in a variety of outcomes. A :crime scene is the "location of a crime; e ...

is killed by the police but the robbery is on the whole successful. Jimmy gets the money he needs, escaping in a stolen

Toyota Celica The is an automobile produced by Toyota from 1970 until 2006. The Celica name derives from the Latin word '' coelica'' meaning 'heavenly' or 'celestial'. In Japan, the Celica was exclusive to the '' Toyota Corolla Store'' dealer chain. Pro ...

with his remaining accomplice. The stolen auto's radio station bumper sticker is spotted by that station's competition team, who give chase attempting to award Jimmy a $10,000 prize. Not wanting to be identified after the robbery, Jimmy rams them off the road. Jimmy returns to Pando's office to pay off his debt, but thinking he has a gun the gang once again attempt to kill him. He is able to give them the money, and is offered more work by Pando as a result. Jimmy leaves in disgust after pulling a gun on Pando. As Jimmy leaves, Helen the street kid passes Jimmy, and in retaliation for the death of her friend Pete she shoots Pando and his gang dead. The movie ends with Jimmy and Alex buying tickets at an airport to 'The North Coast' away from the pressures of life in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

Alternate Versions

Two main cuts of the film exist; both are on file at the

National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national co ...

of Australia. The original cut of the film ran for 103 minutes (99 min. PAL), however, after its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January 1999, the director made a number of trims and cuts, particularly to scenes involving Jimmy's dead brother. Subsequently, the commonly available version of the film runs for 93 minutes (89 min. PAL) and is sometimes erroneously referred to as the "Director's Cut", despite being the version ultimately released theatrically in Australia and on home video overseas. Some German releases were also further cut for censorship reasons. Nevertheless, the original cut of the film does occasionally surface on TV, and UK & Scandinavian VHS and DVD releases are also the longer cut.

Cast

as Jimmy *

as Pando * David Field as Acko * Tom Long as Wally * Steve Vidler as The Man * Dale Kalnins as Kiwi Bob * Kiri Paramore as Les * William Drury as Jesus Freak *

Mathew Wilkinson Mathew Wilkinson (born 9 November 1976) is an Australian film and television actor. Wilkinson played Abigor in the 2007 film ''Ghost Rider''. He played the role of Rocket in the 1999 winner of the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Fil ...

as Rocket *

as Alex * Mariel McClorey as Helen (Short Haired Girl) *

as Deirdre

Soundtrack

The soundtrack featured the Powderfinger single "

These Days These Days may refer to: Music Albums * ''These Days'' (Bon Jovi album), and the title song (see below) ** These Days Tour, a 1995–1996 tour by Bon Jovi in support of the above album * ''These Days'' (Crystal Gayle album), 1980 * ''These D ...

," the video for which was compiled with footage from ''Two Hands.'' Other songs were mostly contributed by Australian artists.

Cezary Skubiszewski Cezary Skubiszewski is a Polish-born Australian film and television composer. Among others, he has composed film scores for '' Red Dog'', '' Two Hands'', '' The Sapphires'', and TV series '' Picnic at Hanging Rock''. Career Skubiszewski first m ...

also contributed original music to the soundtrack

Track listing

#"These Days" by Powderfinger #"Lucky Star" by

Alex Lloyd Alex Lloyd (born 19 November 1974) is an Australian singer-songwriter. Four of his albums, '' Black the Sun'', '' Watching Angels Mend'', '' Distant Light'' and '' Alex Lloyd'', released between 1999 and 2005, made the top ten on the ARIA char ...

#"Walking Kings X" by

#"What Does it Matter" by

Primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works ...

#"Stadium" by

Skunkhour Skunkhour are an Australian funk rock band that were formed in Sydney in 1991. They released four studio albums, ''Skunkhour'' (July 1993), ''Feed'' (April 1995), '' Chin Chin'' (July 1997) and ''The Go'' (May 2001) before disbanding in Novemb ...

#"Dark State of Mind" by

Tuatara Tuatara (''Sphenodon punctatus'') are reptiles endemic to New Zealand. Despite their close resemblance to lizards, they are part of a distinct lineage, the order Rhynchocephalia. The name ''tuatara'' is derived from the Māori language and m ...

#"Belter" by Powderfinger #"Staircase" by

#"Down in Splendour" by

Straitjacket Fits Straitjacket Fits formed in Dunedin, New Zealand in 1986 and were a prominent band in the Flying Nun label's second wave of the Dunedin sound. Biography Like many of their Flying Nun stable-mates, the band hailed from the southern city of Dun ...

#"Heavenly Sublime" by Tracky Dax #"Fletcher's House" by

#"Two Hands" by

Kate Ceberano Catherine Yvette Ceberano ( or , born 17 November 1966) is an Australian singer and actress who performs in the soul, jazz, and pop genres, as well as in film and musicals such as ''Jesus Christ Superstar''. Her song "Pash" received a gold sa ...

#"Love Theme" by

#"This Guy's in Love" by

The Reels The Reels was an Australian rock band which formed in Dubbo, New South Wales in 1976. It disbanded in 1991, and reformed in 2007. Its 1981 song " Quasimodo's Dream" was voted one of the top 10 Australian songs of all time by a 100-member panel ...

#"Kare Kare" by

Crowded House Crowded House are a rock band, formed in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, in 1985. Its founding members were New Zealander Neil Finn (vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter) and Australians Paul Hester (drums) and Nick Seymour (bass). Late ...

Reception

The film garnered mostly positive reviews from critics, with a 71% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Joel Meares, from FilmCritic.Com, praised director Gregor Jordan, saying, "Jordan, here in his firecracker of a debut, has created a fast moving, and ultimately genuinely moving film." Scott Weinburg, of DVDTalk.Com, stated, "Boasts Jordan's slick and efficient film making, two excellent performances by

Ledger A ledger is a book or collection of accounts in which account transactions are recorded. Each account has an opening or carry-forward balance, and would record each transaction as either a debit or credit in separate columns, and the ending or ...

and

Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model ...

, and that always-welcome air of offbeat Aussie attitude." On its release in July 1999, many critics were calling it the "Australian ''

Goodfellas ''Goodfellas'' (stylized ''GoodFellas'') is a 1990 American biographical crime film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Nicholas Pileggi and Scorsese, and produced by Irwin Winkler. It is a film adaptation of the 1985 nonfiction book '' W ...

''." Pete Cascaldi, from ABC.net, claimed, "Two Hands is a beautifully written and executed, fast and sexy street-wise romp through inner city villainy. Sporting the perfect cast, it's the story of innocence and the 'hardway' colliding with a mix of brutality, gentility and just a little mysticism" and praising the director, "Jordan delivers in Two Hands a tale that will more than tickle your fancy and touch your heart."

Awards and nominations

AFI Awards: *Won: Best Film *Won: Best Director (

) *Won: Best Supporting Actor (

) *Won: Best Original Screenplay (

) *Won: Best Film Editing ( Lee Smith) *Nominated: Best Achievement in Costume Design *Nominated: Best Achievement in Sound *Nominated: Best Original Music Score *Nominated: Best Actor (

) *Nominated: Best Supporting Actress (

) Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards *Won: Best Film *Won: Best Supporting Actress (Susie Porter) *Won: Best Supporting Actor (Bryan Brown) *Nominated: Best Actor – Male (Heath Ledger) *Nominated: Best Cinematography *Nominated: Best Director (Gregor Jordan) *Nominated: Best Music Score *Nominated: Best Screenplay (Gregor Jordan) Stockholm Film Festival * Nominated: Bronze Horse (Gregor Jordan)

Queensland Premier's Literary Awards The Queensland Premier's Literary Awards were an Australian suite of literary awards inaugurated in 1999 and disestablished in 2012. It was one of the most generous suites of literary awards within Australia, with $225,000 in prize money across ...

* Won: Film Script – the Pacific Film and Television Commission Award (

)

Box office

''Two Hands'' grossed $5,478,485 at the box office in Australia in 1999.

References

External links

* * *
''Two Hands''
at Oz Movies
Two Hands at the National Film and Sound Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Two Hands (1999 Film) APRA Award winners Australian action comedy films 1999 films Films set in Sydney 1999 independent films 1999 action comedy films 1990s crime comedy films 1999 romantic comedy films Films directed by Gregor Jordan Films shot in Sydney Films about organised crime in Australia Australian independent films Australian crime comedy films Australian romantic comedy films 1999 directorial debut films 1990s English-language films