Murry Whelan Telemovies

This article was first published in the Age on June 19, 2004

While it seems that money is thin in the ground for Australian series at the moment, the Australian telemovie is making a comeback. A few weeks ago Channel 10 screened the fabulous Small Claims, starring Claudia Kavan and Rebecca Gibney, both of whom look a treat in tight denim skirts and trackie daks - and I, for one, can't wait for more of them. Later this week look out for the promising Loot (8.30pm, Friday, ABC) in which Jon Peregrine (Jason Donovan), chases money as it is hidden, laundered and fast-tracked around the world. Tomorrow night we can look forward to the first of the much heralded Murray Whelan Telemovies, Stiff (Sunday, 8.30pm, Channel 7) which are based on the novels by Shane Maloney and have been adapted for television by John Clarke.

Stiff is unashamedly, lovingly, Melbourne-centric. The Minister for Ethnic Affairs, Angelo Agnelli (played by an amusingly deadpan Mick Molloy) lunches at Federation Square while his offsider, Murray Whelan (David Wenham) is left to do the dirty work in the offices and factories of Brunswick: Sydney Road comes up a treat. As in Small Claims, the emphasis is on ordinary people solving crimes that have their genesis in government corruption and both Clarke and Moloney are lovers of the absurd machinations of political bureaucracy.

In Stiff there are bodies turning up in the meat freezer that are, unfortunately not of the sheep or cow variety. The meat work's payroll is full of the names of Turkish sporting and pop stars. Something weird is happening with union officials as well - though I confess I didn't quite get what. For all that this is a great night in front of the TV, it has to be said that Stiff lets itself down in the thriller department and the threads that lead Whelan to solving the crime are tenuous to say the least. The good news is that Stiff's sequel - The Brush Off (yet to be scheduled), in which Angellini has only been Arts Minister for 12 hours before artists start to kill themselves - has much stronger plot development.

But Clarke's strengths are his dry wit, and characterisation, both of which he delivers in spades. Whelan's chaotic personal existence includes a minimal approach to single parenting and a house which takes its job as a metaphor for greater things far too seriously (it's falling down around him) - and this is as much the point of the movie as the crimes he tries to solve. I couldn't help thinking that Wenham was too damn handsome and nor does he seem that comfortable in his more slapstick moments, but he brings a dignity to the role that allows his character to survive his more humiliating moments. The quiet star of the show is Trish (Deborah Kennedy) who runs Agenelli's office in his, and Whelan's, absence. A high point is Mr Adam Ant (Daren Casey), the unemployed bloke who drops by to make a complaint and is still answering the phone and doing odd jobs around the office days later. It has it's inconsistencies, but when all is said and done Stiff takes on the cliches of the quirky Australian comedy drama and injects them with a contemporary savvy and wit. Terrific stuff.

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