Two Hands

History may remember Two Hands for the talent attached to it, but it was a smash hit at the Australian box office (generating about $5.5m) for other reasons. Although this quirky crime-doesn’t-pay morality fable is full of well-worn genre tropes, Jordan avoids delivering the same-old same-old by innovating around the edges. His writing weaves in elements familiar to two influential films popular shortly before its release.

The violence, when it comes, is often abrupt and shocking, grounding the film in a harsh reality. Yet, moments later, we might find ...