''Restraint'' is a 2008 Australian thriller

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

, directed by David Denneen, written by Dave Warner and starring

Stephen Moyer Stephen John Moyer (né Emery; born 11 October 1969) is an English actor and film director. He is best known for portraying the vampire Bill Compton in the HBO television series '' True Blood''. This was followed by the television film ''Lord ...

Travis Fimmel Travis Fimmel (born 15 July 1979) is an Australian actor. He is known for his role as Ragnar Lothbrok in the History Channel television series ''Vikings'' (2013–2017). He also starred in HBO science fiction series' '' Raised by Wolves'' as M ...

and

Teresa Palmer Teresa Mary Palmer (born 26 February 1986) is an Australian actress and model. Following her film debut in '' Wolf Creek'' (2005), Palmer had supporting roles in films such as '' The Grudge 2'' (2006), '' Bedtime Stories'' (2008), ''The Sorcer ...

. The film was shot on location around

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in mid-2005. Working titles during production were ''Ravenswood'', ''Guests'' and ''Power Surge''. It also features a cameo by

Vanessa Redgrave Dame Vanessa Redgrave (born 30 January 1937) is an English actress. In her career spanning over six decades, she has garnered List of awards and nominations received by Vanessa Redgrave, numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony A ...

. In the film, a couple of fugitives take an estate owner hostage, complicating their flight from justice.

Plot

Two fugitives from justice, Dale and Ron, take hostage Andrew, an

agoraphobic Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder characterized by symptoms of anxiety in situations where the person perceives their environment to be unsafe with no way to escape. These situations can include public transit, shopping centers, crowds and q ...

art dealer who might have a dark past of his own. All three soon find themselves participants in a game of survival. Before the narrative begins, Ron has killed Dale's boss, the owner of a strip club. On the run, the couple kills a gas station attendant who sees the body in the trunk of their car. Stumbling across Andrew's magnificent country estate, the couple plans to hide out there until the search for them abates. Ron, impulsive and out of control, abuses and threatens to kill Andrew, but Dale intervenes. Andrew proposes to give them AU 40,000 dollars and valuable jewelry to aid their getaway. Someone, though, must go to the bank to retrieve the goods. Andrew suggests Dale do it, posing as his fiancée, Gabrielle. Dale, as Gabrielle, drives to town and twice enters the bank without creating suspicion. While Dale is gone, Andrew tells Ron that Gabrielle had left him after having an affair with his father and being paid by him to leave; he subsequently hired a hit man to kill his father. To persuade Ron to leave him alive, he offers leverage in the form of a photo that proves he had his father killed. While allegedly retrieving the photo, Andrew manages to lock Ron in the cellar, but Ron escapes and regains the upper hand. Dale returns and the couple prepares to leave. Ron again makes a move to kill Andrew; Dale, who has been partly seduced by Andrew and his way of life, grabs their shotgun and shoots at Ron, without realizing that he has left the gun unloaded. Ron knocks Dale out and leaves her in a locked car filling with exhaust, sadistically goading Andrew into braving his agoraphobia in order to save her. Andrew manages to save her and wound Ron; reviving, Dale deals Ron a death blow. With Ron dead, Andrew moves to call the police. Dale stops him by re-assuming her pose as Gabrielle, and, prompted by Andrew, by telling him in Gabrielle's voice that she loves him. They have sex—again, with Dale coached to speak in Gabrielle's voice. Afterwards, Dale asks Andrew what would happen if Gabrielle came back while she's impersonating her. Andrew assures her Gabrielle is "gone", as we see him burning Gabrielle's passport, ambiguously suggesting he actually killed her. Later, Andrew plays Wagner downstairs alone and seems to celebrate, while Dale gazes forlornly out the house's top-floor window.

Cast

as Dale *

as Ronald 'Ron' Jason Beron *

as Andrew Shepard * Philip Holder as Sergeant Paul Wittens * Margie McCrae as Mrs. Wynott * Peter Davies as Terry Gilmore *

Alyssa McClelland Alyssa McClelland is a director, screenwriter, producer and former actress. She directed the finale episodes of acclaimed Netflix series ''Sex Education'' and was the set-up director of ''Everything Now'', also with Netflix. McClelland directed ...

as Gabrielle * Nate Jones as Tim * Joanne Hunt as Constable Edwina Blainey

Production

Over half the budget came from the Film Finance Corporation. The film was shot in late 2005 near

Goulburn Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, approximately south-west of Sydney and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters patent by Queen Victor ...

and Camden in New South Wales, originally using the title ''Guests'', then ''Ravenswood''.

was imported from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

to support his two Australian co-stars.Brendan Swift, 'Restraint: Why an Australian Thriller Suffered a Single Screen One Week Release', ''If Magazine'', June 2009
Retrieved 14 April 2012

Release

The film was originally meant to be released in May 2006 by Accent Entertainment. Multiple test screenings resulted in the film's running time being reduced from 120 to 90 minutes, and the ending being changed to something more ambiguous. It eventually screened in one cinema in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

in April 2009.

References

External links

* *
Tsuki's publicity site for RavenswoodRavenswood at the National Film and Sound Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Restraint 2008 films 2008 thriller films Australian thriller films 2000s English-language films English-language thriller films