THREE BLIND MICE (Australia 2008) ***
Directed by Matthew Newton

THE THREE BLIND MICE are of the film title are three young Australian naval officers who have been at sea for six months, and now have twenty-four hours shore leave in Sydney before shipping out to Iraq.

Each has a personal agenda: Dean (Toby Schmitz) wants to see his fiancée and cement their future plans while deserting the Navy, Harry (played by director Newton himself) is hell-bent on a night of excess and Sam (Ewen Leslie) just wants to stay out of trouble. 

Though the Iraq slant is dated – the film was originally screened in Toronto twice already, once during TIFF in 2008 and the other more recently during the Aussie Film Festival, the story of men on a last bout of freedom is still timeless.  Newton’s film is full of fast and smart dialogue reflecting the interaction of the trio in the seedier side of Sydney.  The subplot involving Dean’s troubled family life is actually more interesting that Dean’s A.W.O.L. problems. 

The film eventually rests to the main plot of how a man (i.e. Dean) becomes a man.  Newton has crafted an effective small budget film that makes its point.