Top 150 Most Anticipated Foreign Films of 2019: #52. The True History of the Kelly Gang – Justin Kurzel

The True History of the Kelly Gang

Justin Kurzel returns to Australia for his fourth feature, The True History of the Kelly Gang, following on the heels of two Michael Fassbender misfires, 2015’s Macbeth and the 2016 Hollywood studio film Assassin’s Creed, a video game adaptation which grossed over $240 million worldwide but was a critical failure. His latest is another version of notorious Australian outlaw Ned Kelly, whose escapades were previously made into films starring Mick Jagger from director Tony Richardson in 1970 and a 2003 version starring Heath Ledger. Kurzel is producing alongside Liz Watts at Porchlight Films and Hal Vogel at Daybreak Pictures as well as Paul Ranford. The project is an Australian-French co-pro between Memento Films International, La Cinefacture, Screen Australia and Film 4. Amongst the cast are George Mackay (Captain Fantastic) as Ned Kelly, joined by Nicholas Hoult, Charlie Hunnam, Russell Crowe and Essie Davis. Kurzel won notices out of the gate with his grisly 2011 debut Snowtown, which took home two prizes out of Critics’ Week at Cannes. He jumped into the Cannes competition with his sophomore effort, the high-profile Macbeth, which starred Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard.

Gist: Based on Peter Carey’s Booker-prize winning book and re-worked from a script by Shaun Grant (of Snowtown), The True History of the Kelly Gang charts the coming of age of notorious bush ranger Ned Kelly, who decides to wreak havoc on the colonizing British Empire following his mother’s arrest.

Release Date/Prediction: Filmed in New Zealand in July, we expect the producer to aim for a Cannes release, which could either find Kurzel competing for a second time in the Main Comp.