CINEMA

I really didn’t know what to expect out of Gold Dust, other than a treasure hunting movie. Having watched it, I’m still not entirely sure what was happening in the film, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t fun.

OPENING THOUGHTS:

DIRECTION:

Despite the premise of the film, the style is wacky and fun. While it takes a few moments to settle, once you’re onboard, it’s fun, fast, and silly. David Wall gets beautiful shots of the desert landscape and is comfortable letting scenes sit. The actors seem comfortable with their roles, and despite using a lot of children, he gets good performances out of all, even in the most bizarre of situations.

PLOT:

Bear with me whilst I figure this one out, because there was a lot going on – and it’s the best and worst thing about the film. Treasure hunting pals Fink and Moses are out in the desert trying to, you guessed it, hunt treasure, when they come across a dead guy and a bag of money. Elsewhere, a mysterious killer is rounding up various blokes and for some reason not killing them, whilst his drug lord boss yells at him through a video chat. There’s also some children running around the desert, and somehow all of these storylines do come together, in a pretty satisfying way.

I personally would have preferred less characters introduced so quickly, as it took me a while to figure out who I should be following and who I really cared about. I loved Fink & Moses’ dynamic and enjoyed spending time with the pair, so more ownership from them at the beginning would have helped the narrative flow easier in the first act.

ACTING | CHARACTERS | DIALOGUE:

David Wysocki (Moses) and David Wall (Fink) stood out as the main players of the film, and I loved their weird little quirks. Fink is obsessed with a girl from his past who had no idea he even existed, and Moses lives in an imaginary world of ‘would you rather’ prospects. They have great on-screen chemistry and hold the film up. Interestingly, Wall is doing triple duty as writer, director, and star, so it makes sense that he is the standout in the film. As mentioned in the plot section, there are a LOT of characters, and at times it holds the film and storyline back. But I do love a silly villain, and a murderer with a phobia of people singing is high up there.

VISUAL EFFECTS | MAKEUP | DESIGN:

MUSIC | SCORE | SOUND DESIGN:

A bit too much classical music for my liking, but it’s a central character point, so I’ll allow it. The rest of the music used within the film was beautiful, so I’ll be looking into the soundtrack; there’s some wonderful acoustic sounds perfect for any road trip, although hopefully not one in the desert with murderers running around!

CLOSING THOUGHTS:

There is great use of visual editing to ramp up the wackiness and some excellent character intros – very much reminded me of other comedy crime indies like Kill Ben Lyk.

PROPERTY OF HIGH OCTANE PICTURES

Movie Review

CASUAL

Written By Clare Brunton

Published: 04.10.20

Edited By McKayla Hockett

RELEASE: 04.07.20

MPAA: NR

Genre: Comedy. Adventure.

"...But That Doesn’t Mean It Wasn’t Fun."

Gold Dust was a bit of an eclectic mess that felt overly long, but it was a fun, silly mess that I did enjoy watching. Much of that is down to the charisma of the two Davids who completely charmed me. I’ll be looking into the filmography of both, as there’s definitely more to love than hate in this one; almost like it’s sprinkled with gold dust.

CONCLUSIVE VERDICT:

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