Review: CEDAR BOYS

STARRING LES CHANTERY, RACHEL TAYLOR

DIRECTED BY SERHAT CARADEE

Love for an incarcerated brother – and aspiration for a lifestyle that is well out of reach – drive this story of money, drugs and machismo set in Sydney’s Western Suburbs. Tarek (Chantery, in his first leading role) is a young panel beater of Lebanese heritage dreaming of a better life. With his incarcerated brother’s court case stalled for lack of funds, Tarek enrols in a friend’s plan to steal drugs from a criminal gang and sell the pills for profit. He also hungers after Amie (Taylor) and her privileged Rose Bay lifestyle, but with the vengeful gang out for blood, it’s not long before Tarek’s plans come tragically undone.

There have been plenty of stories about drug heists, gangs and bloody revenge in Australian cinema in recent years (think Getting’ Square, Little Fish and most recently Nash Edgerton’s The Square) but what differentiates Cedar Boys is its focus on telling an authentic story from a rarely-seen perspective. Unfortunately, writer/director Serhat Caradee’s story does not sustain the originality of its premise. The rise and fall of Tarek and his friends is clichéd, their dialogue trite, and the cinematography flat and uninspired. Two key scenes which bookend the film display the dramatic tension so sadly lacking in the rest of Cedar Boys, although a driving soundtrack merging hip-hop, techno and traditional music somewhat offsets the film’s sluggish pace.

Rating: Two and a half stars

CEDAR BOYS opens nationally on Thursday July 30.