''Better Man'' is a four-part Australian television

biopic A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudr ...

mini-series A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format ...

which originally screened on SBS TV on 25 July 2013, and replayed in February 2014. It was written and directed by Khoa Do and produced by Stephen Corvini. It starred

David Wenham David Wenham (born 21 September 1965) is an Australian actor who has appeared in film, television and theatre. He is known for his roles as Faramir in ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy, Friar Carl in '' Van Helsing'', Dilios in ''300'' a ...

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), ...

Claudia Karvan Claudia Karvan (born 19 May 1972) is an Australian actress, producer and scriptwriter. As a child actor, she first appeared in the film, '' Molly'' (1983) and followed with an adolescent role in '' High Tide'' (1987). She portrayed a teacher i ...

and newcomer

Remy Hii Remy Hii (born 24 July 1986) is a Malaysian- Australian actor. Hii attended the National Institute of Dramatic Art for three years, and appeared in various theatre productions, before being cast in his first television role. Hii starred as Van ...

. According to SBS, ''Better Man'' had the most "star studded lineup" in the network's history.

Synopsis

''Better Man'' is based on the true story of

Van Tuong Nguyen A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across t ...

, a 25-year-old Vietnamese-Australian man who was arrested in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

, convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to death in 2005. The series follows the story of a young man who had a tough but loving upbringing with his twin brother and devoted mother. The story culminates in an extraordinary three-year legal battle to save the life of Nguyen, led by Julian McMahon, a Melbourne

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solici ...

, and Lex Lasry , a Melbourne barrister.

Cast

as Julian McMahon *

as Lex Lasry *

Jordan Rodrigues Jordan Rodrigues (born 20 July 1992) is an Australian actor and dancer. He is best known for his role as Trey Emory in the Hulu original series ''Light as a Feather''. He has starred and appeared in TV series '' Dance Academy'', ''Home and Away' ...

as Khoa Nguyen * Hien Nguyen (real life mother of Khoa Do) as Kim Nguyen *

as McMahon's wife Bernadette * Aileen Huynh as Kelly Ng * Carmel Rose as Rachel *

Sachin Joab Sachin Joab is an Australian actor. He took an interest in acting during primary school and attended various acting schools and workshops. Since graduating from the National Theatre, Joab has appeared in several films and television, including ...

as Inspector Ramesh *

Felino Dolloso Felino Dolloso (born Manila, 1980) is a Filipino-Australian actor currently based in Sydney, Australia. Early life Dolloso was born in Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is ...

as Alan *

Terry Lim Terry Lim is an Australasian Martial Arts Hall of Fame inductee, Martial Arts Australia Martial Artist of the year Masters Awards recipient and renowned martial artist who has had a short documentary made about him titled ''It's him... Terry Lim ...

as father Giang. *

Mahesh Jadu Mahesh Jadu (born 26 October 1982) is an Australian actor of Indo-Mauritian ancestry. He is best known for the role of Dr. Doug Harris in the soap opera '' Neighbours'' and the role of Ahmad in Netflix original series '' Marco Polo''. He also ...

as Shanmugam Murugesu * Edwina Royce as the McMahons' daughter Angie * Nhung Kate as Vy, Van Tuong Nguyen's lover

Production

Development

''Better Man'' was researched and developed by Stephen Corvini, Khoa Do and Timothy Hobart for over three years prior to the series’s production. Van’s lawyer

Julian McMahon Julian Dana William McMahon (born 27 July 1968) is an Australian actor, former model, and the son of a former Prime Minister of Australia, Sir William McMahon. He is best known for his roles as Detective John Grant in '' Profiler'', Cole Tur ...

was a consultant on the miniseries as were Van’s closest confidantes prior to his execution, his best friends Kelly Ng, Bronwyn Lew, and Goldgan Ng. All four had been present during Van’s final visit. ''Better Man'' was written by Do based on extensive interviews, Van’s personal letters, court transcripts, his arrest statements and his clemency appeal.

Filming

Production and filming took place in Melbourne, Australia and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Oct - Dec 2012. Scenes depicting

Singapore Changi Airport Singapore Changi Airport, commonly known as Changi Airport , is a major civilian international airport that serves Singapore, and is one of the largest transportation hubs in Asia. As one of the world's busiest airports by international passe ...

Changi Prison Changi Prison Complex, often known simply as Changi Prison, is a prison in Changi in the eastern part of Singapore. History First prison Before Changi Prison was constructed, the only penal facility in Singapore was at Pearl's Hill, beside ...

and the courtroom in the

High Court of Singapore The High Court of Singapore is the lower division of the Supreme Court of Singapore, the upper division being the Court of Appeal. It consists of the chief justice and the judges of the High Court. Judicial Commissioners are often appointed ...

, among other settings, were all filmed in Melbourne with the Cambodian and Vietnamese scenes being filmed in Vietnam.

Episodes

Controversy

Van Tuong Nguyen's family had stated that the series had "reopened old wounds", and his mother, Kim, had declined to contribute to the development of the project and called for the film maker to drop the project. Additionally, Lex Lasry, who acted as a lawyer for Nguyen prior to his execution in 2005, condemned the series, calling it an "untruthful soap opera" and saying that it continued to cause stress to the family. Subsequently, SBS inserted a disclaimer stating that the Nguyen family "had no direct participation" in filming of the movie.

Reception

''Better Man'' received glowing reviews, with critics commenting on the exceptional performances of the cast and the gripping nature of Do's storytelling. David Knox in TV Tonight called the show "the best local drama of the year", Dianne Butler in The Herald Sun praised it as "the most gripping TV drama of the year", The Australian's Lyndall Crisp selected Better Man as its "pick of the week" and mentioned that Better Man was "harrowing but well worth watching". The Sydney Morning Herald's Gordon Farrer also selected Better Man as its "Show of the Week" and praised the production, stating that Better Man's "script is sharp and moving; the direction is confident and effective. This is a moving story that gains power from the telling. Compulsory viewing". TV Tonight also listed Better Man in its "Top 5 Shows of 2013", and ranked it number one in Australian television shows for the year.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 2381048, Better Man Special Broadcasting Service original programming 2013 Australian television series debuts 2010s Australian crime television series 2010s Australian drama television series