Med 231 Jolleh Abshar
Fast Talking
1984. The Cast:
Steve Bisley: Redback
Tracy Mann: Sharon Hart
Peter Hehir: Ralph Carson
Denis Moore: Yates
Rod Zuanic: Steve Carson
Toni Allaylis: Vickie
Chris Truswell: Moose
Gail Sweeny: Narelle
Julie McGregor: Steve's mother
Gary Cook: Al Carson
Peter
Collingwood: Principal.
Director: Ken Cameron.
Writer: Ken Cameron
Producer: Ross Mathews
Cinematographer: David
Gribble
Film editor: David
Hugget
Production Design: Neil
Angwin
Music: Sharon Calfraft, Eurogliders
Screenplay: Ken Cameron.
Australian Film Commission.
Video Release Date: April 5th 1988.
The film Fast
Talking centers on the
life of a fifteen year old boy, who comes from a broken home. His father an
alcoholic, and his brother a drug dealer, Steve Carson, is forced into a life
of juvenile delinquency and "fast talking" his way out of trouble.
Release
Dates: August 23rd 1984.
Fast
Talking begins with the
three main characters, Steve Carson (Rod Zuanic), Vickie (Toni Allaylis) and
Moose (Chris Truswell) stealing eggs from a battery hen farm. The teenagers are
confronted by the owner, and they run from the farm. Steve Carson is the
protagonist in the film. He is a 15-year-old juvenile delinquent. He is a small
boy with a big mouth. The second scene shows Steve running on the beach with
his dog Max, before rushing to water his marijuana plants which he keeps
concealed behind bushes. He waters them and feeds them fertilizer. The next
scene is at Steve's school. Steve is picked on by the teacher who tells him "he
knew Carson could not be trusted with a simple task," when Steve drops a desk
he was moving. In woodwork, Steve is caught making a wooden phallus, which he
claims is a "cricket bat handle." The teacher confiscates it and tells him to
get back to work. In the half an hour we are shown all aspects of Steve's life.
His dog Max, which he loves and takes care of, his crush Vickie, school (the
main source of problems for Steve) and his dysfunctional family. At school,
Steve is shown dealing Marijuana to kids that wait by his locker. He sells it
in matchboxes, and is caught by an older student whilst making a deal. He is
taken to the principles office, and judging by the familiarity him and the
deputy principle Mr. Yates (Denis Moore) share, it is not his first time. The
deputy asks Carson to turn out his pockets at which a wad of cash and another
box of matches are revealed. Although it is blatantly obvious he is dealing
drugs, Carson plays innocent and gets six hits with the cane and told "not to
get caught again."
After his
"brush with the law" (as Yates likes to describe it) Steve is sent to class. He
is greeted by a new, young teacher Sharon Hart (Tracy Mann). After school,
Steve climbs into his older brother's car, who takes the wad of cash off Steve.
Ralph, (Peter Hehir) is a drug dealer, and is horrible to his younger brother,
verbally and physically abusing him. They drive to a motorcycle wrecking yard,
where Ralph deals to the workers. Although Steve is told to wait in the car, he
gets out and has a look around. After scoping the place out, Steve attempts to
steal a motorcycle part, at which the owner of the yard, a tough looking ex
bike racer, Redback (Steve Bisley) sees him and gives chase. Redback catches
Steve and threatens him. Ralph comes to hit Steve for not "waiting in the
f***ing car" but Redback tells him to "piss off" and to never do drugs in his
yard again. After Ralph has left, Redback asks the youth if he's "related to
that turd?" to which Steve replies "he's my brother." Redback sees how bad
things are for the boy and shows him a few bikes. He then asks Steve to come
back on the weekend and learn about making motorcycles.
As Steve is
walking home, he is shown walking alone past a group of boys his age, playing
football. He arrives home to a big disturbance. His mother has left whilst he
was at school, and his alcoholic father (Garry Cook) is fighting the
removalists for the possessions being taken from the house. Steve virtually
ignores the scene and takes his dog Max for a walk. Al Carson (Steve's father)
keeps greyhounds for racing in cages in the backyard. Steve's dog Max is the
runt, the "useless no-hoper." When Steve and Max go for a walk, the dog runs
off and attacks a neighbor's cat. Like Steve, the dog is a "useless runt" who can't
help himself from doing bad things. The day ends with Steve reading aloud the
goodbye note left by his mother. "I've left you ten dollars under the fridge,
find it before your father does." (Steve's mother leaves the family for an
equally disgusting man who owns a cake shop.)
This "first
day" we see takes us into Steve Carson's life. At first we see him stealing,
and growing drugs, then misbehaving at school. In the first scenes of the film,
Steve is an unlikable character. He is small, ugly and annoying. He is
constantly doing bad things and lies consistently. Following the school scenes
however, his behavior is explained, first by the appearance of his drug dealer
brother, and then by his home life and alcoholic father. This "first day" allows
the viewer to discover a lot about Steve's life and his behavior. His father
beats him, his mother doesn't care, his older brother beats him, and teachers
at his school pick on him, rather than offering help. We also see the side of
Steve that shows he's a normal young boy, despite the dealing, swearing and lying.
The way he cares for his dog, and has a keen interest in motorcycles show he is
a normal boy, who is growing up in a dysfunctional family. The future is not
all bleak for Carson however, as Sharon Hart (his teacher) and Redback
genuinely try to help the boy and stand up for him. Both Sharon and Redback
feel sympathy for Steve because they both know what it is like to be the
"underdog". Redback later tells Steve he too, was a juvenile delinquent and
spent three years in prison for stealing a Harley Davidson. Sharon tells Steve
she knows what its like to be picked on because all the teachers were picking
on her, due to her modern, and "unsuitable" teaching methods.
After this
"first day" when the characters are introduced and Steve's life is shown,
things get worse and more complicated for the 15-year-old. Redback gives him an
old motorcycle to do up, to stop him from stealing one, but he has to earn the
money himself. Steve steals newspapers and starts selling them. He tries to
kiss Vickie, and she rejects him, his father in a drunken state, poisons Max
the dog (for being useless like Steve) and his mother virtually ignores him on
the street, quickly giving Steve her number, which she is not available on.
Ralph tries to get Steve to sell "smack" at school, but Steve flushes it down
the toilet. In the midst of all the conflict, there is an emotional scene when
Steve's older brother comforts him after the death of his dog. Ralph tells him
"the bastard has done worse to me" and gives Steve some money to ease the pain.
The police find out Carson has been stealing newspapers and dealing drugs and
come to the school looking for him. After a series of escape attempts which
include Steve running on the roof, climbing up drainpipes, and pretending to
faint, the boy is caught and expelled from the school along with his friends
Vickie and Moose.
Steve's bike
is finished so he rides to Vickie's. She kisses him and they go for a ride.
Vickie tells him her mother "doesn't care about her anymore" and the two spend
the night riding around. The following night the trio, Steve, Vickie and Moose
vandalize Mr. Yates's office and steal his car whilst the whole school is in
the hall for a disco. The three try to scam petrol the next day, but their plot
is foiled when a police car spots them. Vickie is caught, and the two boys
Moose and Steve speed off in the car. They drive off a bridge, into a river,
and the car slowly fills with water. Both boys escape unharmed, and Moose gets
caught. Steve takes off on a motorboat. In the final scenes Steve returns to
the car yard where he takes his bike. Redback tells him that he will be caught,
but he doesn't stop Steve from escaping. The last shot is of a motorcycle
riding into the distant sunset. Steve has escaped again, for now.
Although the
film is set around teenagers with no hope, it is not dark or depressing.
Depressing films seemed to be a character of the 1990's with films like "The
Boys" (date) so perhaps this is why the film lacks the "depressed" mood. Steve
has no hope, yet it seems the entire community also has nothing to look forward
to. There is a scene where one of the teachers tells the students that they are
all "stupid, and can look forward to a life on the dole." All the adult
characters in the film are also struggling; Sharon is not accepted by other
teachers, Ralph is a drug dealer, Redback hangs around an old motorcycle yard,
and Steve's father is an alcoholic. The kids have no one to inspire them to do
well at school. Although Carson is picked on by most teachers, all the students
seem to be dimwitted.
The film has
a very desolate setting. All the landscape shots include industrial buildings
and sparse areas of nothing. There are a few swamps filled with rubbish that
are also shown. The setting can be compared to the future of the people living
in the community, especially Steve, which is bleak and desolate. Although Steve
has friends, he is a lonely boy, who seeks comfort in his pet dog. When he is
walking home, there is a strong contrast between him and the boys his age who
are playing football. He does not have a normal life. He is lonely with no hope
of making anything of himself, and the setting reflects that.
The title Fast
Talking comes from the way
Steve lies to get himself out of trouble. He is very quick; he knows what to say
and how to get out of situations. Throughout the film, Steve uses his "fast
talking" to weasel himself out of the trouble he has caused.
Research;
When
confronted with the task of finding information on Fast Talking, I was dreading
looking on the internet, as I thought the web would have next to nothing on an
Australian film made in 1984. In some aspects I was right; however, I was
impressed with the IMDb website, which gave me quite a substantial amount on
information on both the film and the actors. Finding reviews on the internet
has been very difficult, and although I tried several different search engines,
I am yet to locate a single review written at the time of release. I found one
review on the IMDb site, but I don't think this was by a critic, as some of the
information about the film was wrong in the review. In the Encore journals of
1984-86 I was able to locate two interviews on the film, one with director Ken
Cameron, and the other with producer Ross Mathews. (August 16-29th 1984,
p 4) The Australian Cinema books weren't too helpful, many of them either
didn't mention the film, or had one sentence on it, comparing it to other teen
films released in the 1980's. (Mad Max had entire pages written on plot and actors!)
The director
of Fast Talking, Ken
Cameron, has directed and
written a list of other Australian films (see references), as well as directing
the "White Collar Blue" and Halifax TV series. Along with Fast Talking, Ken Cameron has directed Miracle at
Midnight (1998), Brides of
Christ (1991), The Good Wife (1987) and Monkey Grip (1982). The film has won awards from the
Australian Film Institute, including 1984 Nominated Best Actor in a supporting
role, Steve Bisley and Peter Hehir. Best Director Ken Cameron, Best Screenplay
(original) Ken Cameron. Winner of the Australian Critics Circle Prize. In the
interview found in Encore, Ken Cameron said he wanted to express the importance
of substance in his film. Cameron demands social substance in his films, so
they are not merely for entertainment. He also made another film (for TV
release) called Crime of the Decade, which was very similar to Fast Talking, and many of the young people from the original
cast were used.
"Steve
Carson" was Rod Zuanic's
film debut. Born in France, in 1968, his acting portfolio includes Danny
Deckchair (2003), Cody: Fall
from Grace (TV 1996) Hampton
Court (TV1991) Tale of Ruby
Rose (1988) The Place at the
coast (1987) Starship (1985) Crime of the Decade (1984). He also had roles in Water Rats in 1996, and Hey Dad! in 1986. He also acted in Mad Max Beyond
Thunderdome (1985) and Warm
Nights on a Slow Moving Train (1989).
Fast
Talking was released on August
the 23rd 1984, at Hoyts Centre Cinema in Sydney, because that
particular cinema was most popular with young people. The target audience was
the 12-20 age bracket. The film was marketed as serious, but also fun and
entertaining. Promotions for the film included radio ads, TV and print, which
all played up the sense of action in the film. The Prime Minister opened the
premier at Paramatta on the 18th of August, and the Eurogliders were
featured on the soundtrack. At the time of release for Fast Talking, Street
Hero was also released. It had
a similar plot, and aimed for the same audience. After reading the box office
takings in Encore for August and the following months, I could not find Fast
Talking on any of the pages. I
found Street Hero on all the
lists, but Fast Talking was
nowhere to be seen! I read in an interview that Fast Talking had been taken by the Nine network for TV, so I
am not sure what happened in the release time. I think the film may have been beaten
in viewers by Street Hero,
which has made it fade into the background. In books I have been looking at,
there is much more information on Street Hero than Fast Talking.
I think Fast
Talking is definitely a teenage
film. It deals with teen issues such as school, stealing and drugs, and how a
broken home can affect the life of a child. If put into a genre, I think teen
would be suitable, however, much of it is comedic. (Or trying to be, it's quite
outdated.) The film is referred to by several websites as a drama, which can be
seen in the harsh life that Steve leads (with his broken home, alcohol and
drugs). Other films also made in the 1980's which are similar to Fast
Talking are Puberty Blues (1981) Moving Out (1982) Street Hero (1984) and Fighting Back (1982). The schools in these films are
overcrowded and play up the fact that school provides no inspiration for the
children attending. Overall the film is quite light; I did not feel depressed
by the film, as I do with more recent dramas.
Jolleh
Abshar 30172765
Bibliography:
Australian
Cinema, edited by Scott Murray Australian Film Commission 1994. NSW Australia.
The
Australian Screen 1989, Penguin Book Australia Albert Moran and Tom O'Regan.
An
Australian Film Reader: Edited by Albert. Moran and Tom O'Regan 1985, Currency
Press Pty Ltd NSW Australia.
Australian
Cinema 1970-1985. Brian McFarlane. William Heinemann Australia. 1987 Victoria
Australia.
Film Struck:
Australia at the Movies. John Baxter. ABC 1986 Sydney Australia.
Back Of
Beyond: Discovering Australian Film and Television. AFC Sydney Australia 1988.
New
Australian Cinema: Sources and Parallels in American and British Film. Brian
McFarlane and Geoff Mayer. Cambridge University Press 1992.
A Century Of
Australian Cinema. AFI edited by James Sabine. 1995. Melbourne Victoria.
Websites
used:
Australian
Film Commission.
Alan McKee's
Australian Cinema Unit.
Movie Review
Query Engine
RML Movie
Page.
The Internet
Movie Database.
Australian
Movieguide.
Director - Ken Cameron filmography
(2000s)
(1990s)
(1980s)
(1970s)
Filmography
as: Director, Writer, Actor
Writer - filmography
(1990s)
(1980s)
(1970s)
Filmography
as: Director, Writer, Actor
Actor - filmography