3) Felony (Oct. 17)
Joel Edgerton is not just a fine actor, but a terrific screenwriter too, as indicated by his feature writing debut, the Australian noir The Square. While he has become a familiar face due to his involvement in projects as diverse as Animal Kingdom, The Great Gatsby and Warrior, Edgerton has some storytelling chops as well.
Last September, he debuted his newest script, Felony, at the Toronto International Film Festival. Even with a high-profile cast and rave reviews – including one from We Got This Covered’s Darren Ruecker – it has taken more than a year to leap from the festival circuit to the cinema.
A compelling tale of loyalty and police corruption, Felony follows Malcolm, played by Edgerton, an Australian cop who accidentally hits a kid on a bike during a drive home. The two detectives who realize what Malcolm has done take different approaches of how to deal with the situation. Senior cop Carl Summer (Tom Wilkinson) understands Malcolm’s predicament and tries to cover up the crime, while junior cop Jim Melic (Jai Courtney) wants to expose him.
Ruecker wrote, in his four-and-a-half-star rave, that Felony is “an absolutely gripping and realistic crime tale.” Given the recent wave of terrific, character-driven thrillers to come from Australia, that is no surprise. With Edgerton finally get some time in a lead role and the always superb Tom Wilkinson offering a stellar performance, this should be a powerhouse drama. With police corruption and brutality continuing to be a major topic in North America, Felony’s varying perspectives and moral sides should make the film one of the most complex thrillers of the year.