Son of a Gun

Australian heist thriller starring Ewan McGregor, the feature debut from writer-director Julius Avery. A young fella (newcomer Brenton Thwaites) is drawn into the lawless and persuasive world of a notorious criminal.

"The character of the young inmate ingénue has provided a rich seam in recent cinema, and fresh-faced JR (Brenton Thwaites) cuts a sympathetic figure as a rookie whose lack of guile, paired with a razor-sharp survival instinct, sees him drawn towards Brendan (McGregor) a father-figure whose paternal instincts have a poisonous edge. Out of the slammer and into the fire, JR is soon seduced by the spoils of mobster living, all fast cars and firearms, where thugs play chess and double-crosses are par for the course. Here he meets feisty Tasha, played by rising star Alicia Vikander, a street savvy beauty who has grown weary of being kept caged. McGregor positively scorches in a shark-like role that harnesses all the charisma and livewire edge that first brought him to stardom." (London Film Festival)