Triple 9

Overview

Triple 9 is the film equivalent of a song that catches your attention with a recognisable beat, yet still manages to get stuck in your head. You know you've seen this brand of testosterone-fuelled, tightly written crime effort before, but you can't help getting immersed in it anyway. There's plenty that's familiar in this blood-soaked tale of cops, robbers and ruthless Russian gangster, including the ways in which it uses its high-profile cast. But just because you know what to expect doesn't mean that the end result isn't effective or powerful.

Starting with a chat between two shady figures, then barrelling into a bank heist, John Hillcoat's latest film explores the intersection of law and order in Atlanta. As it happens, most of the men behind the theft are current police officers or ex-military operatives. Corrupt detectives Marcus (Anthony Mackie) and Franco (Clifton Collins Jr.) work both sides of the line; shifty siblings Russell (Norman Reedus) and Gabe (Aaron Paul) lurk in the shadows; and former special forces contractor Michael (Chiwetel Ejiofor) oversees their operations. He's a pawn for mob boss Irina (Kate Winslet), who keeps threatening to take his son (and her nephew) away from him.

Irina uses that leverage and her penchant for violence to not only strong-arm the crew into doing the first job, but to blackmail them into making a follow-up smash-and-grab on Homeland Security. Enter their nasty solution to the seemingly impossible task: distract the bulk of the city's police force by killing a cop. Marcus' new, straight-down-the-line partner Chris (Casey Affleck) is their target.

Though newcomer Matt Cook is responsible for the screenplay, Triple 9 is a Hillcoat film through and through. The movie doesn't just follow in the footsteps of other gritty, murky crime fare — think Heat, Killing Them Softly and Sicario — but of the Australian filmmaker's own back catalogue, including The Proposition, The Road and Lawless. In his hands the film seethes with intensity, delivering menacing, mesmerising thrills.

With Woody Harrelson, Gal Gadot, Theresa Palmer and Michael K. Williams joining the other well-known names, Hillcoat's stellar cast is on form. The film is an ensemble effort filled with fine actors doing what they do best — Paul playing drugged up and down-and-out; Winslet mastering yet another accent; Ejiofor navigating morally complex territory; and Affleck once again proving that he's more nuanced and compelling than his famous sibling.

When the actors aren't snarling their lines at each other with distrust, they're stalking through hallways and shooting up freeways, in the film's most distinctive segments: its set pieces. Shot with energy and anxiety, and accompanied by an insidiously unsettling score, they're the feature's hooks. No matter how familiar everything else might seem, these sequences are sure to buzz through your brain, and ensure that you can't stop watching.