Sydney, the mid 1970s. Handsome Merv and nice girl Paula have just gotten engaged. Merv has a new job at a broom factory and Paula has a beautiful home. Merv’s old prison friend Jim, who goes by “Pommie,” suddenly shows up. Jim seems like the prototypical Australian “mate:” beer in hand, a smoke in the other, and always on the verge of a violent outburst. The greeting between Merv, who Jim calls “Little Sparra” and Jim is perhaps a bit too intimate for straight pals. Merv does not seem too pleased with seeing his old friend who wants to reignite their old lifestyle. Jim opts for other methods when that doesn’t work, destroying Merv and Paula’s house and garden in the process.

The story of a man whose past catches up with him has been told many times before and a relationship that gets shaken up by an ex-lover is also a common trope but a protagonist with a former gay prison relationship is uncommon to see. CUT SNAKE is both a thriller and a relationship drama. Merv has hidden his jail time and his gay (or bisexual) history from Paula and his relationship with Merv and his past are more complicated than it at first seems. CUT SNAKE is a very rough and excessive genre piece but can also be regarded as a queer commentary on the masculine, violent bonding that exists in gangster films.

Hannes Stein

Translation: Elinor Lewy