Mood, atmosphere, tragedy

Press, 27 September 1982, Page 14

Mood, atmosphere, tragedy

BAD BLOOD Directed by Mike Newell Screenplay by Andrew Brown The brooding, mistshrouded, dark blue Southern Alps set the mood and background for the tragedy of Stanley Graham in “Bad Blood” (Regent).

Indeed, this is more than the tragedy of just one man. It is that of the small community of Koiterangi and the surrounding area in 1941.

While New Zealand troops were over in Europe fighting the Germans, another little war was taking its sad and bloody toll on the 'West Coast’ not too many kilometres from Hokitika at a place which now spells its name as Kowhiterangi. The change of spelling probably had more to do with its Maori origin — but the grave of Eric Stanley George Graham at Hokitika cemetery now boasts only a cracked, concrete slab with the simple inscription: Stanley.

Stan Graham was a misfit from a well-established West Coast family which, at one time, owned a local pub. But his problems seemed to get worse after he married a Christchurch bar maid, and

with the arrival of the hard times of the war years.

“Bad Blood” follows Graham’s last weeks of mental disintegration, culminating in what the film considers to be some kind of galloping paranoia; the killing of seven men, including four police; the resultant manhunt by locals, the police and military; and Graham’s death from a .303 rifle in the hands of one of his pursuers.

The incident was a sensation in New Zealand and, in the eyes of some, turned Graham into some kind of legendary folk hero along the lines of Australia's Ned Kelly.

The story has retained its fascination in most of the South Island, and interest was rekindled when filming of “Bad Blood” started almost two years ago near the site where it actually happened.

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Therefore, there is little point in recapitulating the events any further except that the film points a blunt finger at Graham's wife (who believed the locals considered her “common as muck”) as being the one who fired his madness; his belief that neighbours were poisoning his cattle and that “they” were trying to steal his land.

Everything came to a head after the New Zealand Government ordered that all .303 rifles should be handed to the local police for the duration of the war, and Sergeant Ted Best came to pick up Graham’s beloved rifle.

“Bad Blood” faithfully follows all these details, as documented ■in Howard Willis’s “Manhunt," but' actually gives us little other explanation for Stan's strange behaviour or even the neighbours’ distant reaction to the odd goings-on at the Graham property during the last days before the slayings.

West Coasters may be considered by some as a casual, laconic lot, but if this film has one failing’ it is that unsatisfied feeling left by a lack of deeper motivation.

Why did Graham rage at the neighbours' children, the man riding by on a bicycle, and why could his wife not properly pay the grocery bills before they left the shop in a taxi or chauffeur-driven car?

On the other hand. "Bad Blood” can be considered an excellent exposition in mood and atmosphere, which makes it- probably the best attempt yet at an “arty” movie by the New Zealand film industry. The mountains are sombre and looming, the flat countryside is brightly lit. and the interior of the Graham house is as dark as the minds of its inhabitants.

The acting by the lead players is excellent also. Dennis Lili is just right as Ted Best, the local police officer'and about the only sympathetic character in the whole film.

Carol Burns (Jackie in TV’s “Prisoner”) is strong, scheming and pathetic ("Stan, are you listening? You’ve done-it now. It was

their fault") as Graham’s wife.

Jack Thompson dominates the show in the leading role. Although we never quite find out what makes Stanley tick. Thompson has all the characteristics of a man at the end of his tether — particularly in the many close-up shots.

The scenery of the Southern Alps and Hokitika region speaks for itself, and is used as the ideal setting for such an incident.

In spite of its flaws. "Bad Blood" does not curdle and actually improves at a , second running.

Possibly. Andrew Brown, the New Zealand-born producer and scriptwriter of "Bad Blood," sums up his film best:

“It is a classic TwentiethCentury tragedy. The story belongs to the landscape, yet it has a universal quality. This could happen in any enclosed, isolated community. There really were no heroes and no villains."