Tin God: Also known as the low budget bargain bin cousin of Wasted On The Young or West.Here, instead of prep school kids or inner city yobbos, we are treated to a trio of late 1990's alt rock stereotypes. Smells like teen spirit? Smells like the director wishing he'd made this film in Seattle in 97. Smells like Bull****.Why the attempt to make a film on so little money is praised, I do not know. To be fair, there are times when Tin God starts to work. I see other people mentioning the trio of leads, as well as the final act. Yes, these things are good. But did we really need another Australian movie about woe is me youth? No, we did not.Let's dissect this 20 something wasteland; Acting: As others have stated, slides from good to bad. The standouts for me were Jesse and Sasha, both of who are given less on screen 'moments' than Ethan, but that's to be expected when the lead is also the producer. Support roles are woeful. Script: The subject matter: Again, why? The writing itself is witty, the character development solid, motivations:clear. Why not put that into an interesting story rather than "Sulking 20 somethings wander about bemoaning how hard life is and how screwed up they are". Direction: All I could think when watching this was that this is NOT the kind of movie Reedy should make. Film noir lighting is obviously his drug of choice, and he seems to lavish the drama and suspense of the final act. This is not the arena he should be plying his talents. I can honestly say that in a more suspense or thriller genre he may be quite a stylish film maker, but here it feels out of place. It seems as if he has forced a style he loves onto a story that did not wear it well with a budget that couldn't support it. There are obviously some people of ability on this film. It is just a shame they put their effort into such a hackneyed idea rather than doing something groundbreaking. Though I suppose for the reported budget, You cannot expect much.

If this review could be the word 'Garbage' written for ten lines, it would. following the hype of the director internet presence, you may be fooled into expecting some sort of breakout debut film. And you'd be left very wanting. The characters in this film are all unlikeable. Reedy has tried to create some love letter to self destruction and instead left me watching a bunch of emo jerks. It's like an Alice In Chains or Pearl Jam video. Some body, please let the director know that the 1990's are long over!!!The film is sloppily constructed, And in spite of the fact I hated this exercise in exorcising teen angst, I will admit, as other reviewers have, that the final act does work in building mood and tension. If you can get past the jerky camera and bad editing at the start!!!ONE WORD: DULL!!!!And double standard - why in a movie that is full of graphic nude scenes and language is the lead character taking a bath in his boxers at the start? I thought the Director was supposed to be a hardcore, daring rebel film maker? How is that DARING??? LOL.This was a big, boring letdown. Maybe Bronze Priest would have been a better title.

Gave this an 8 because I love the feel of it. It's the sort of edgy, worn out feel I like in movies like this. You get the feeling all of these characters are at the end of their rope and hanging on for dear life. I was a bit surprised to find it was shot in Australia, because it looks like it could have been made here in London, in the back streets of Liverpool or anywhere. The story is pretty dark, but the writings so good it manages to season the overwhelming sense of doom with a bit of humor here and there, with some cracking one liners. It's well done for a low budget movie, really. The 3 leads are really good, I really like that the director had the balls not to shy away from raw subject matter and nudity, because it keeps it real, which is what this film has going for it in a big way. Only real problems where some of the other actors where pretty weak, and there were some scenes that were a bit pointless early in the movie, but overall, pretty good. I'll be getting it on DVD or Blu Ray when it comes out. Would be curious to see a yak track or doco on the making of it.

I was lucky enough to view Tin God recently, and while it is not without it's faults, it's a solid independent film effort that has one foot firmly in the great American indie film boom of the mid to late 1990's. However, It's very dark and certainly not for everyone.The story is very reminiscent of this sort of film, feeling much like a cross between Greg Arakki's Doom Generation and Reality Bites. Nihilistic 20 something slackers caught in their own self destructive ways looking for love and happiness. It's an old story, But writer director Jake Reedy manages to infuse it with a sense of gritty realism and a sense of melancholic fun, almost an 'angst for the memories' note to everybody's mid 20's. The script stands out because of the dialogue. Reedy and Co-writer Rachael McMeeking have done what so many Independent films fail at and have given their characters the voice of real, 3 dimensional people. these characters speak like people you know. The dialogue is witty and sharp, without venturing into tragically hip territory. As great as the script is, it's delivered with mixed results. Tana Smith and Whitney Duff as Ethan and Sasha respectively, shine whenever they're on screen,especially together, some of their 'dating' scenes are incredibly sweet and real. Both are perfectly natural and filling the more emotional scenes with burning intensity. Benjamin James Doolan delivers a solid performance, making a character that should be completely unlikeable verge on empathetic, especially with his great monologue confession to Sasha. The weakest link here is the actress playing Ethan's friend Cassie. I found her unconvincing and difficult to watch. She lacked the intensity and natural charm of the other cast,and there was no chemistry between her or other cast members. As a character I'm assuming, from the story, we are meant to feel sympathy for and relate to,I felt none. In fact i would go so far as to say I felt a sense of relief when her character was killed on screen, as it returned to sole focus to the rest of the cast who could hold the screen.The look of the film is a strange mix of almost film noir and a grungy music video/ documentary, almost like reedy has been inspired by Micheal Mann's experiments in pseudo documentary/ style. When it works, it works very, very well, but earlier in the film it seems to falter in some spots. Obviously Reedy's vision and ambition have far outstripped his budget in this project, but A good solid "A" for effort is certainly called for. All told, Tin God is a good, solid indie effort, a darkly nihilistic look at obsessive ideas of love taken to extremes, full of emotionally broken characters you enjoy yet are capable of horrible behavior. The photography is far superior to what you normally see in an low budget drama, and if the few problems I previously stated ie: an established style, more of a budget, and a more capable actress playing one of the key characters weren't there, I'd rate this film much higher. However, i think it deserves a 7 simply for what the film makers have tried to do, and succeeded in some places, with limited resources. Hopefully they'll do another in the near future.