by Mark Poole, 18/3/13

The screening of Underground: The Julian Assange Story at the Nova in Carlton this Sunday evening (17 March 2013) was a sell-out and an entertainiing experience. Director and writer Robert Connolly introduced the film and afterwards Julian Assange’s mother Christine took to the podium with Connolly and Alex Williams, the lead actor who played Julian in the film. Alex’s performance is a knockout and so the film boasts a strong cast, with Laura Wheelwright also excellent as Electra, Assange’s girlfriend, Rachel Griffiths playing Christine Assange and Anthony LaPaglia as Detective Ken Roberts. The hacker friends of Julian’s were also great.

The packed discussion afterwards centred on Assange, with Christine delivering a passionate defence of her son, accusing the Federal Government of abandoning this Australian citizen and failing to support him in any way at all. Also present was one of the organisers of Assange’s forthcoming tilt at getting into the Senate.

Despite originally being made for television, this version of Underground allowed more space for political content and stands up as a feature film. It is taut, well-paced and keeps the audience on the edge of their seats until the end. You can’t say that about many of our recent output.

Speaking to the audience after the film was shown, Connolly said he had been fascinated by the early Assange story which took place before the World Wide Web had been invented. He described how he acquired an antique Commodore 64 computer of the type used by Julian Assange to connect to a US Military site. He gave it to Alex Williams during the rehearsal period, and discovered that after an hour Williams had been unable to work out how to turn it on. However by the end of the rehearsals Alex was programming.

Alex Williams is clearly headed for a big future. He has already gained a Hollywood agent, apparently, after graduating from WAPA. As soon as Connolly screen tested him he was hired for the job of portraying Julian Assange. On the stage, his mother Christine complimented Alex for getting right a lot of the subtleties in how her son behaves, creating an uncanny likeness.

The screening kicked off the CinemaPlus initiative, launched by Robert Connolly and Footprint Films. Under the CinemPlus banner a number of films will be released over the coming months, including The Turning,  described as a bold cinematic event based on Tim Winton’s best-selling collection of short stories. In a landscape where the distribution of Australian films clearly needs a major shakeup, this initiative is welcomed particularly by local filmmakers. And as Robert says, in an era where anyone can pirate anything on their home computer, they have to offer something extra to entice an audience into the cinema.

Connolly told me that the project began when director Mark Davis of Dateline fame brought the book upon which it is based by Suelette Dreyfus of the same name to Matchbox Pictures, who asked him to take a look. Davis himself had interviewed Julian Assange a number of times, and he is included in one of the clips about the film on the take-home DVD provided to the audience at the screenings.

After the Melbourne season, Underground will screen in Sydney, Byron Bay, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth over the next few months. The screenings will feature ‘value-added’ events such as Q and A sessions, and attendees are given a copy of a DVD with special features including the screenplay of the film, and a QR code which can trigger the director’s commentary which can be heard along with the film.

For more information visit www.undergroundthemovie.com.au.

The Press Kit is here. Underground – Press Kit

Further screenings:

• Tuesday 19 to Friday 22 March Cinema Nova, Melbourne: 6.45pm
• Sunday 24 March Palace Brighton Bay, Melbourne: 4.00pm
• Wednesday 27 March Palace Chauvel, Sydney: 7.00pm
• Thursday 4 April Palace Electric, Canberra: 7.00pm
• Friday 5 April Palace Byron Bay: 7.00pm
• Sunday 7 April   Palace Centro Brisbane: 4.00pm
• Thursday 11 April Palace Nova Eastend Adelaide: 7.00pm
• Friday 12 April Luna Leederville Perth: 6.45 pm

MARK POOLE