User Reviews

Jimmy (Heath Ledger) is given a simple job by Pando (Bryan Brown) a underworld kingpin to deliver money to a particular address, but when no one answers the door Jimmy decides to take a dip at the beach to pass some time, but he notices that his clothes on the sand have been messed up and the 10 grand is gone. Jimmy rings Pando to tell him the problem, but he doesn't want to hear it. Pando and his boys try their best to locate Jimmy, meaning no more Jimmy if they get their hands on him. So now Jimmy goes into hiding to organise a bank robbery to get Pando's money back. Also throughout this mess he meets the innocently sweet Alex (Rose Byrne) and together they're in for one hell of a ride through Sydney's King Cross.

"Two Hands" is simply an engrossing pick-me-up film that's brisk, exhilarating and incredibly fresh. What you got here is pretty much an urban gangster film with a seedy backdrop and in-your-face violence… what, how's that fresh you ask? Well, because it takes us into the underworld where the Australian culture shines with criminals wearing thongs (flip flops) and footy shorts, done up cars and a can of beer in the hand… and don't forgot the Australian sense of humour, dry and sarcastic. You can say it owes a lot to the likes of "Pulp Fiction", "Goodfellas" (a fave of mine) and "Lock, stock and two smoking barrels" for its inspiration, but for me it still stands on its own. The film has real mixture of light-hearted moments, but also a mean streak to it with some unexpected shocks and black humour that can actually be disturbing. You just don't know what's coming and it has a nice touch of snappy irony (especially the ending) and great timing with its humour. One scene involving a bank robbery will have you in stitches, I guarantee you. The plot's outline is really a coming to age story (or about the road not taken), with a punching love tale added and then the gangster element to finish it off. Most of the sub-plots were cleverly constructed and interlocked, well maybe it could've gone without the supernatural element involving Jimmy's dead brother, but in the overall context the diverse plot seems to all click together. Intense, natural and crisp dialogue filled the outrageously colourful script, with quick jabs of Aussie slang/twang - I'm fair dinkum!

What truly made the film was that of Bryan Brown's performance of Pando. He just gave his character such a deviously charismatic/nasty persona that when he wasn't on screen his presence was still felt. He gave his character two sides - one being a prick, but the other side is such a good bloke. A young Rose Byrne glows with her nervously sweet/quirky character Alex. She looked radially gorgeous and added a bubbly personality. Then you got Heath Ledger who fit's the buck as the naive Jimmy. Great supporting cast involved with the likes of Susie Porter, Tom Long, David Field, Steve Vidler and Steve Le Marquand. Such raw performances are achieved and from that you get riveting, fun and believable characters. Pumping rock soundtrack bursting at the seams with the likes of Powderfinger and Alex Lloyd provide a cool vibe. Also being shot on location in Sydney's King Cross really helped it stick out by holding a life of its own and showing the Australian way of life. Gliding camera tricks captured the city's backdrop superbly, especially the piercing nightlife. This was a film that when it ended I was totally satisfied with what I got. Overall, a slickly paced crime thriller that achieves what it intended to do... a fun, clever and crazy roller coaster ride of thrills and excitement.

I say, it's a successful Aussie take on "Lock, Stock and Two smoking barrels" by director/writer Gregor Jordan in his debut film. If you come across it, don't hesitate to it give it a go.

The inspiration for this film was the fact that American Gangsters are well dresses, but the Aussies, well when you might kill a guy as soon as look at the blighter, then you can dress as badly as you want and people won't criticize you.

Jimmy is fighter, an illegal boxer, sometimes bouncer and is offered work by Pando, the local gangster boss in the cross (That is, Australia's notorious Kings Cross District, not the Cross of London fame as many a British backpacker finds out the hard way).

Due to feelings of love he stuffs up a job, loses a lot of money and has to get it to Pando before Pando and his heavies can kill him.

Lots of dark humour, interesting action, revelations about the Australia's underside and human nature. It is very centred in the Australian nature and explores the nature of Australian criminals (versus the American and British ones).

One problem is that each of the elements of the story don't have enough substance and depth, but it is a painting with broad strokes that covers a lot of area not covered previously, so as an overall package it is worthwhile.

Team it up with "Chopper" and "Dirty Deeds" for your Aussie Crime fest or "Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and "Miller's Crossing" for an International falling short of the criminal gangs fest.

By the way, Bryan Brown is a great actor who has just done a huge number of really bad movies. Here is one of his great movies.

Jordan takes us into the seedy crime side of Sydney, Australia, following the desperate attempt of nineteen year old Jimmy, (Heath Ledger), who bundles a job for a local gangster and needs to make amend before they get to him. The gangsters, (led by Bryan Brown), are a menacing bunch with a humorous streak in them. That's what makes the film work, because we always view gangsters as a rough bunch out to screw you badly. But this mob tickle your funny bone as well. A clever structured script by Jordan has characters crossing paths and getting caught in the web plot.

This hillarious film captures the Australian personality perfectly. From Bryan Brown in his Hawiian Shirts and thongs to Blue Monaros and boys (Heath Ledger) too busy chasing girls to worry about their life, this film is wonderful. There are no Koala Bears or Boomerangs in sight in a lame attempt to convince foreign audiences that Australia is a great place with loads of character. It does what it does and says what it says which is just about as Australian as it gets. If you don't get the humour in this film you should go back to watching episodes of "Funniest Home Videos" as the humour must obviously be beyond you.

"Two Hands" is an entertaining, funny story about Australian lowlifes. The screenplay contrasts the world of fast money and deadly acts with the inexplicability of fate and circumstance. In a subtle way we are asked to ponder the concept that major events in our lives are sometimes generated without our being fully aware of the root causes. The forces of fate and circumstance take Jimmy, the main character, into situations that bring about the realization of his shallow dreams and, ultimately, an understanding of a more personally promising world.

The clueless Jimmy, portrayed with acumen by Heath Ledger, is a kid who grew up without opportunity. The high paying world of crime offers the greatest appeal to his blunted senses. The love and help of friends guides him to a higher plateau.

The film is well-directed and well-acted. The band of criminals teeter between likable and despicable, keeping us interested in their crazy antics all through the film.

I remember catching this film on a C4 screening a year ago and I was completely blown away by the whole thing. I thought the film managed to represent such a diversity of genres; the supernatural, a love story, the intrigue of crime, and so many more.

I was hooked on the whole thing after a minute or so and was really concerned about the characters. It made me feel terrified at one second for Jimmy, and then had me laughing away at the gangsters in the next... and all the time I had my fingers crossed that things would work out for Jimbo!

Heath Ledger and Rose Bryne are superb, Bryan Brown is absolute quality and had me creasing up, along with David Field, who was funny as well as being an evil git.

Since I saw this film I managed to order it on DVD and as a result, every person I show it to has been hooked in much the same way.

This film is perfect for a Sunday afternoon or a lazy evening, and it's one that you can really appreciate with your mates around.

It's hard to know what to make of this weird little Aussie crime flick - on the one hand, it's an enjoyable little film with a great sense of humour; but on the other, it just lacks a certain something that ensures the film never reaches above it's boundary that keeps it trapped within the merely 'interesting' territory. That being said, Two Hands is a well plotted film that excellently juggles several stories at the same time, which allows several small climaxes throughout the movie, and that in turn helps to stop the film becoming boring. The absurdity of the goings-on, the thick Australian accents and the bizarre set of characters all help to ensure that the film entertains also. The plot follows the story of a young doorman who thinks he'll go on to bigger things after accepting a job from the local kingpin. He doesn't; the job only lands him in trouble when he fancies a swim and stupidly leaves ten grand on the beach, which is promptly stolen by a couple of kids who have the time of their lives on a shopping spree. However, all is not rosy for our hero; who must find the money or face the consequences...

The film is made up of a cast of unknowns; at least, it was back in 1999, as nowadays Heath Ledger is something of a name. He doesn't impress too much here, however, as his performance is mostly of the one-note variety and he doesn't make for a very compelling lead. He fits the movie in that he's Australian and looks naive; but beyond that, he's not the best lead I've ever seen in a movie. If you ask me, Bryan Brown gave the best performance here. He might not have a great deal of screen time, but he steals every scene he's in and it's him that provides the movie with a lot of its humour. He's got nothing to do with the best sequence, however, which takes place in the form of probably the most hilarious bank robbery ever caught on film. On the whole, I can recommend this film to people that enjoy quirky crime films; as the weirdness is plentiful, and the way that events take a turn for the bizarre is enjoyable; but if you're not a fan of this sort of film, I can't really say that Two Hands will float your boat. It's not a must see, but if it's your thing and you get a chance to see it...you probably wont completely regret it.

"Two Hands" is a good addition to the Australian Film Catalogue.

It is that curious mix of real life, surreal life, comedy, tragedy and love the Australians have developed on their own.

Heath Ledger is basically a good if naive guy. Wanting to get on he falls in with a local "Big" Man Pando (Bryan Brown). But at the very moment he sets a first toe on the dark path to crime he meets Alex (Rose Byrne). Here is the cause of the error to change his life in ways unexpected. After getting on the wrong side of Pando accidentally, things get very bad very quickly and if not for a little otherworldly help this would have been a short sad film. Yes, Jimmy learns a few lessons in life and no one escapes uninjured in one way or another but at the end of it has a feel good feel to it. Although there is a lawless theme through the story, it is not glorified and helps to show how destructive crime can be on normal lives.

Heath Ledger is excellent as Jimmy, innocent and savvy at the same time, Rose is hypnotic as Alex and Bryan is marvellous as usual. This is a small ensemble of characters are believable and I found myself caring about the good guys and disliking the baddies.

This DVD is usually in the cheap aisle so I would recommend adding it too your DVD collection, it would be money well spent.

8 out of 10

A refreshing black comedy starring some of Australia's finest. In the same way that Lock Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels captured the funny side of London gangsters, Two Hands rips through the Sydney underworld. It wouldn't be so funny if it wasn't so close to the bone.

An Australian classic. If Australia could pull more rabbits like this out its hat it might actually have a film industry worth keeping an eye on.

This Aussie flick filmed in 1999 does an OK job of portraying a bunch of small-time crooks in Kings Cross, Sydney. The plot focuses on the plight of a young would-be crim who's life is in danger after botching a job for his future boss. Very well acted by Heath Ledger and Bryan Brown. The plot is fairly believable with some very humorous moments in one scene which revolves around a bank heist. The setting-up of various themes central to the story is quite well done. Eg. When one crim is searching for bullets for his gun. I personally have a dislike for gratuitous violence in movies, and in this regard, the movie did not offend. It attempted and succeeded in showing us the human side of the baddies such as Bryan Brown. The rest of the cast did an OK job, without any real stand-outs that I remember. The direction was very good in succeeding in making a believable movie that provided good entertainment. The main overriding feature that makes this a good movie is the acting and direction of Heath Ledger and his successful portrayal of a naive young man who makes stupid mistakes for short-term gratification, thinking he is indestructible and not realizing that there are sinister people waiting to pounce on any mistake. The director, Gregor Jordan, deserves special mention. Rating in my book - 7 (of 10).

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5 Years ago if you were to watch an Australian film you would expect to see crocodile hunters, stories of war, drag queens, kangaroos and koalas, and Australians in general being represented as nitwits living off the land, saying words like ‘cobber' and generally being the classic underdog.

Luckily Australian film has evolved over the last couple years and is churning out modern day ‘classics' such as Blackrock, Moulin Rouge, Chopper, Yolngu Boy and Sample People.

In this evolution of film we also find Two Hands.

Set in Sydney's Kings Cross, Two Hands is a black comedy about crime and survival in the rough end of town. Pando, played by Bryan Brown, is a Sydney Mob boss. He's the king of organised crime wearing thongs, carrying a stubby and helping his son with his origami. He's vicious, but real. As are his ‘mob', holding gun's to someone's head in one scene and then playing boardgames in the next. They are well respected and if they ask you for a favour, you don't say no.

Enter Jimmy, played by Heath Ledger. Jimmy is your average Aussie guy in his early twenties. He's a good guy who wants to make a name for himself without getting on anyone's bad side, so when Pando asks Jimmy to deliver $10,000, Jimmy accepts.

Things start to get exciting when 2 teenagers manage to steal the money while Jimmy is at the beach. So now Jimmy is $10,000 in dept to a major mob boss. From here we start to see all the interconnecting stories with Jimmy and his attempt at a bank robbery to recover the money, Jimmy and Alex (the love interest, played by Rose Byrne), Pando trying to find Jimmy and, of course, the two teenagers and their new found prosperity. The concept is deepened by the narrator, Jimmy's dead brother, Michael, who was killed by Pando and his gang years earlier.

In the end all the storylines connected really well with a surprise twist to shock and stun the audience. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

"Two Hands" is a hilarious Australian gangster movie set in really sultry Sydney. I bet tourists never envisage Sydney and Bondi to look like it did in this film: all sweaty bodies, oppressive nighttime and gangsters in nylon shorts and jandals. Heath Ledger plays an amateur boxer with an eye on becoming part of the local King's Cross boss's gang. He looked rather magnificent in his green wife beater and blue patterned budgie smuggler. A sweaty tattooed bod does become him. I always had him down as a "Home & Away" boy, and he has been in that soap, which is a little sweatier than the Weetbix-insipid "Neighbours". The film is really worth watching for its combination of sardonic humour and nasty violence - the drowning scene is expected to give me nightmares soon. Totty awards: Country girl love interest city brother and tattooed streetkid.

I went to see Two Hands on the recommendation of friends. I am still friends with them but less likely to trust their judgment in future. It was billed as a comedy but with the exception of the 'bank job' (which I have to admit was hilarious) it was certainly not and ten minutes of humour do not make a comedy.

The characters were so full of possibilities it was difficult to see how this film could fail but the script was so inane a junior high school Kylie Mole would have been too embarrassed to admit authorship and there is the root of this film's downfall. For those who go to see this film and, like me and the party I saw it with, you can't see the point after 15 minutes....it doesn't get any better.....go to the movie that started 15 minutes after this one before it's too late and watch that. For those that make it to the end and cringe at the ticket counter scene ...'I told you so'.

And, oh yes, one of my group really is (was?) a Bryan Brown fan.

I was somewhat unsure of whether or not Two Hands was going to be worth the cost of renting. I was a little disappointed in the beginning, just because I thought for certain it was going to set the precedent for the rest of the movie. I think if I watched it again, I would find the beginning more entertaining just for the fact that I know what is going to happen in the ending. Overall, the cast is wonderful. I thought the presence of Jimmy's brother was a little out of place. I wish they hadn't made him look so gnarly, maybe a little more ghostly. The bank robbery scene was very Quentin-esque, I liked that. The humor was incredibly well done. The actors were very raw, and genuinely Australian. None of this Americanized Australian crap. I like foreign films because it gives us a chance to hear the dialects and slang terms used by other nationalities. Heath Ledger was charming as always. Overall, this movie was very good. I would highly recommend it. I will buy this one if I can find it.

A underrated gem of a action thriller crime caper comedy that manages to wrap around multiple subplots quite neatly and always give you a couple of surprises along the way.

Heath Ledger is very good in the lead, and co-stars as a young Rose Byrne as his romantic interest and Bryan Brown as a ruthless crime boss are also very good... In fact all of the cast deliver what they are supposed to.

I watched it 15 years ago and really liked it, I wasn't sure if it was gonna be one of those movies that could stand the test of time but it really turned out to be able to do that when I rewatched it today, so that was nice.

Yeah well worth seeing, and then some. Solid soundtrack as well.

Something was missing here. On the whole Two Hands was low on something. It feels very Americaniz'd. Not really a word but I'll use it. Some bits of it are very inventive like Ledger's dead brother giving his monologue at the start. It has a good mixture of humor and action, and I really did feel the intensity of Ledger's predicament, like walking in his shoes, where there were some really intensely scary moments. But even though I did like the film, I didn't feel like there was much holding it together, as really the story is in no way in original, but it is fun, the way the movie's told, though I couldn't help feel this, was borrowing from other pics, especially as far as Tarantino territory was concerned. The humor I will say was many a thing I liked, which included Field's gun backfiring on him (shouldn't of put them in the wash, Dave) + that 35 year old woman slow carking it. Two Hands is tasty though and and as a Summer treat, I really felt that fear Ledger, was feeling when running from the guns. As Pando, I would say this was Brown's best ever singular acting performance, where he has reached his height as this murderous and notorious crime figure. One guy who works the Cross, and one guy you don't ever wanna cross. Ledger was so so, while bubbly Byrne was better as the love interest, where the other smaller performers impressed, especially Pando's mob. Yes Two Hands is still a pumped up watch, but really doesn't earn enough status, where I wouldn't feel comfortable as passing off as good. Great opening credit sequence, as well as Ledger's shock admission at the end, about never boarding a plane, which was a killer end of dialogue.

As an Aussie, if I'm ever asked what's my favourite Australian film, it's this!

We have since lost both Heath Ledger and Tom Long, may this amazing film be their legacy forever.

RIP both Heath Ledger and Tom Long and thank you for your amazing performances in Two Hands!

I feel that Australian movies are very underrated and not given enough credit by it's own audience. It seems that respect and/or interest has to be earned, which is apparent in the success of Working Dog's new film, The Dish.

Although, there are a handful of great Aussie films to come out of the 90's that even we Aussies love. Romper Stomper, Priscilla, Muriel's, The Castle, but to name a few are all classics; and now Two Hands has earned that title.

A very original movie, although the plot is nothing new, that uses black humour, shock tactics, romance and action to tell the plight of Jimmy, played by the excellent Heath Ledger. This is such an enjoyable film, and being an Aussie, I was so happy to be hearing our language and watching our scenery. The engaging script written (and directed) by Gregor Jordan is fast-paced and full of wit and humanity. It was wonderful to see Bryan Brown as a bad guy, and only an Aussie film could have a villain named Pando.

I highly recommend this film to Aussies who tend to bag Australian films. Maybe the reason they don't have the success and the hype of the UK and US films, is because we don't believe in the ability of our own film industry. Don't wait to hear how good an Aussie film is, just go see it.

"Two Hands" is like a woman in a little black dress. Without the glitter and glam of Hollywood accessories to distract you, all you see is the fire in her eyes. Utterly simple in its telling, I was moved by the characters' evolution. And, though the colors were rich and vibrant, the shades of grey were the most touching and enlightening. Real people, true actions and reactions, and my kind of humor made this a movie to be savored. I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a movie with substance and not the typical fluff of mainstream.

I like how the events in the movie are coming one after another and each one is caused by the previous. The movie has a good structure and is shot by the right angles. Everyone who is begging to make movies should watch it, it is a perfect example for a great composition in film.

Seems to me that the older movies focused on the details more and the acting is more expressive. A simple parts are made with art and good play.

Heath is born to be in front of the camera, even at the beginning of his career he is so deep into his role and make such a professional play. This film is a gem for the movie industry.

I like to know as little as possible about a film before I see it. Al I knew about "Two Hands" was that Bryan Brown was in it, and it was the pick of the current aussie crop due to it's AFTA nominations. Writer/Director Jordan has seen "lock, stock..." more times than is healthy. Whilst the set-pieces are beautiful and the spot-on commentary on the aussie national psyche is perfect, the lack of a real story and the dullness of our lead send you into paroxsyms of seat-shifting.

The dead brother as narrator is woefully used and only the gangster bits between Pando and Oca are much fun, the lead lady is fantastic throughout and then goes inexplicably-drama-school towards the end.

Could be cut to be a fantastic short, provided you lose Heath. It wasn't until afterwards that I remembered where he'd not-acted before- "Ten things I hate about you", surely the worst shakespeare since Kenny Branagh's last mirror-fest. Avoid.