''Around the Block'' is a 2013 Australian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed and written by Sarah Spillane. The films stars

Christina Ricci Christina Ricci ( ; born February 12, 1980) is an American actress. Known for playing unusual characters with a dark edge, Ricci predominantly works in independent productions, but has also appeared in numerous box office hits. She has receiv ...

Hunter Page-Lochard Hunter Djali Yumunu Page-Lochard is an Australian stage and screen actor of both Aboriginal Australian and African-American descent. He is known for his roles in the films '' The Sapphires'' (2012), '' Around the Block'' (2013) and '' The Djarn ...

Jack Thompson Jack Thompson may refer to: Sports *Jack Thompson (footballer, born 1892) (1892–1969), English footballer who played for Sheffield United and Bristol City *Jack Thompson (1920s footballer), English footballer who played for Aston Villa and Bright ...

and

Damian Walshe-Howling Damian Walshe-Howling (born 22 January 1971 in Melbourne, Victoria) is an Australian actor, well known for his role as Andrew "Benji" Veniamin in the Australian underworld drama, ''Underbelly'', for which he won the Best Supporting or Guest Ac ...

. The films revolves around an American drama teacher (Ricci) who develops a friendship with a sixteen-year-old

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...

boy (Page-Lochard) during the

2004 Redfern riots The 2004 Redfern riots took place on the evening of Sunday 15 February 2004, in the inner Sydney suburb of Redfern, New South Wales, and were sparked by the death of 17-year-old Thomas Hickey, also known as TJ Hickey, resulting from a bike ...

Plot summary

An American drama teacher named Dino Chalmers (

), who has a passion for

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, gets the opportunity to work at a school in

Sydney, Australia Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and List of cities in Oceania by population, Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metro ...

, where she attempts to introduce theatre as an alternative to life on the tough streets of Redfern in Sydney. She meets a 16-year-old Aboriginal student named Liam (

), who lives around the block in Redfern and lives a life of drugs and violence. Chalmers presents Liam with a possibility of a life without drugs and violence by giving him the lead in the production of ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'', and so he must choose between pursuing his newfound dream of acting or following his family into a cycle of crime. In addition to this, Dino is in an unhappy relationship with her boyfriend and occasionally finds herself parked outside a shop to watch a woman. It is later revealed the woman is actually a former lover of Dino and the relationship fell apart as Dino was unable to come to terms with herself. Dino later breaks up with her boyfriend after having a sexual encounter with a woman called Hannah (

Ruby Rose Ruby Rose Langenheim (born 20 March 1986) is an Australian model, actress, disc jockey and television presenter. Rose was a presenter on MTV Australia (2007–2011), followed by several high-profile modelling gigs, including Maybelline New York ...

) and realizes she doesn't want to be with him. She later attempts to reconcile with her former lover but is rebuffed as she has since moved on. Liam is wanted for questioning by the police after his brother murdered a man, the police allow Liam to finish the play before taking him away.

Cast

as Dino Chalmers *

as Liam *

as Mr O'Donnell *

as Mr Graham *

Matt Nable Matthew Nable (born 8 March 1972) is an Australian film and television actor, writer, sports commentator and former professional rugby league player. After playing in the Winfield Cup Premiership during the 1990s for the Manly-Warringah and ...

as Jack Wood *

Andrea Demetriades Andrea Demetriades (born 1987) is an Australian actress known for her television, theatre and film roles. Personal life Demetriades was born in Perth, the youngest of four sisters. Her father, Costas, emigrated from Cyprus in 1969 and met her ...

as Kate *

Josh Quong Tart Josh Quong Tart (born 18 September 1975 in Sydney) is an Australian actor. Early life Tart attended the McDonald College before he was accepted into National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in 1994, graduating in 1997 with a bachelor's degre ...

as Barry Griffen *

Daniel Henshall Daniel Edwin Henshall (born 9 August 1982) is an Australian film, television and theatre actor, known for his work in '' Snowtown'', ''The Babadook'' and '' Turn: Washington's Spies''. Early life and education Born and raised in Sydney, Austr ...

as Simon *

as Hannah *

Madeleine Madden Madeleine Madden (born 29 January 1997) is an Australian actress. She is best known for playing Egwene al'Vere in the Amazon Prime series ''The Wheel of Time''. Early life Madden grew up around Redfern, a Sydney inner city suburb, and attended ...

as Williemai *

Mark Coles Smith Mark Coles Smith (born 1989) is an Indigenous Australian actor originally from Broome in Western Australia. He is known for his roles in '' Last Cab to Darwin'' (2015), '' Picnic at Hanging Rock'' (2018) and '' Occupation: Rainfall'' (2020), a ...

as Steve

Production

Filming began in June 2012 in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and

Redfern, New South Wales Redfern is an inner-city suburb of Sydney located 3 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney. Strawberry Hills is a locality on the border with Surry Hills. The area ...

. Christina Ricci was in Australia for the four-week shoot.

Reception

The film received mixed reviews from critics and audiences, earning a

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

approval rating of 63%.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was released on 11 July 2014 by Silent Recordings. The album featured the songs from the film and a number of tracks from the film's original score composed by Nick Wales.

Track listing

# "Just to Feel Wanted" by Tuka (4:06) # "Block After Block" by

Matt and Kim Matt and Kim (sometimes stylized MATT and KIM) are an American indie electronic duo from Brooklyn, New York City. The group formed in 2004 and consist of Matt Johnson (vocals/keyboards) and Kim Schifino (drums). The duo is known for its upbeat d ...

(2:57) # "Truth Be Told" by Horrorshow (4:19) # "Paint the Town Red" by

Thundamentals Thundamentals are an Australian hip hop group originating from the Blue Mountains region bordering the metropolitan area of Sydney. The members are currently Tuka, Jeswon, and Morgs. They have released five studio albums. History Band origi ...

(4:08) # "Exile" by

Spit Syndicate Spit Syndicate are an ARIA Award-nominated Australian hip hop duo, consisting of Nick Lupi and Jimmy Nice based in Sydney, Australia. The duo have opened for international acts such as Cypress Hill, Xzibit, Ice Cube, Lupe Fiasco, Atmosphere, Bro ...

(2:53) # "She Wants to Know" by

Half Moon Run Half Moon Run is a Canadian indie rock band based in Montreal, Quebec. The group is known for their heavy use of layered percussion, group vocal harmonies, and for playing multiple instruments during live performances. Career 2009–2013: Forma ...

(4:11) # " Broken Wings" by

Ngaiire Ngaire Laun Joseph (born 1984, in Lae), known by her stage name Ngaiire (pronounced ''ny-ree'' or /naɪəriː/), is a Papua New Guinea-born Australian-based R&B and future soul singer-songwriter. Her musical career commenced in 2003 with an enrol ...

(3:08) # "Where You At?" by

Astronomy Class Astronomy Class are an Australian hip-hop / reggae group from Sydney. The group comprises Ozi Batla (Shannon Kennedy), Sir Robbo (Shane Roberts) and Chasm (Chris Hamer-Smith). Kennedy is a member of The Herd, whilst Roberts is a member of Fr ...

(3:36) # "Catch Me On the Fly" by Nick Wales (5:01) # "Cliff Top – Nick Wales (3:51) # "Need It" by Half Moon Run (3:27) # "How Far How High" by

Coda Coda or CODA may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * Movie coda, a post-credits scene * ''Coda'' (1987 film), an Australian horror film about a serial killer, made for television *''Coda'', a 2017 American experimental film from Na ...

(4:26) # "It's Real" by Nick Wales (2:19) # "Blackbird Strings" by Nick Wales (0:37) # "Steve's Kill Montage" by Nick Wales (4:50) # "Rhythm and Flow" by Jenny Morris and various artists (5:36)

References

External links

* * {{Rotten Tomatoes, around_the_block 2013 films 2013 drama films Australian drama films Films about race and ethnicity Films shot in Sydney Australian LGBT-related films 2010s English-language films