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Cast: Nicky Wright, Renny Holder, Zero Murray, David Purton, Philip Holder, Michael Plumb, Paula Duncan, Megan Drury, Nicholas Baldas, Stephanie Bendixsen
Nick is an aging blind man, guilt-ridden after leaving his friend Michael behind during a previous diamond heist in Sierra Leone. Upon returning back to Australia after the incident in Sierra Leone, Nick is arrested for diamond smuggling. Undiscovered by the authorities, the most precious diamond is hidden inside him. Once incarcerated, he hides the diamond in his prison cell. This is where he is blinded by the people he stole the diamond from. For 15 years Nick lives on, alone and forgotten. The day he realizes he has cancer is the day he faces the regret and remorse for his friend Michael. He decides to finish what he started, to get back the diamond he once hid in the prison cell. To complete the heist, Nick enlists the services of three young thieves: Renny the point man, Zero the grease man and Dave the precision sniper. After years of guilt, Nick is obsessed to finish the job he started 15 years ago.
"Braille" is an Underground Australian film from Writer/Director, Matthew Chuang. The film starts off a little slow while it sets up the story and characters and it remains that way for most of it's run time before getting to the actual heist but it holds your attention well by focusing on the lead character, his motives and the story behind the diamond he is looking to reclaim. The film's gritty look fits the story well and everything seems realistic and natural. As far as the cast goes you're not going to find anything extraordinary here but everyone did a good job playing their roles. The film offered much more than I expected mainly due to the excellent writing and direction and the more human side of the story which separates "Braille" from other heist films like it. A 2009 film, Writer/Director, Matthew Chuang went on to make several shorts afterwards which surprises me because after watching the film I felt he was a very promising new director with true potential, hopefully this is not the last we hear from him. I really enjoyed the character of Nick, this is a man that has regrets from his past and is determined to make it right no matter the cost, I would go on but I don't want to ruin the film by giving too many details away about Nick's motives or where the film goes as it moves along.
"Braille" is a thinking man's heist film that's both original and ambitious, it sucks you into it's story and it makes you care about it's characters. If you enjoy the genre then I highly recommend picking this up when it comes out on DVD May 17th. You can find out when you can order the DVD HERE.
Released by Osiris Entertainment
*** 1/2 Out Of *****