Film
Two Hands
Two Hands is a Sydney-set crime comedy that follows a desperate nineteen-year-old trying to stay alive after losing a gangster's money. It's scrappy and energetic, balancing dark laughs with genuine jeopardy, anchored by Heath Ledger in a role that shows his range before fame. For anyone who loves crime stories with a sense of humour and a specific sense of place.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you like crime capers that run on scrappy, sweaty desperation and a lead who is more hapless than hardened, with the jokes arriving sideways from the gutter.
Skip it if you want a tidy, fast-moving heist with clean rhythms; this one wanders through its middle, and its violence and lurching tone can feel uneven.
What it asks of you: A compact hundred-odd minutes at a loose, meandering pace, shifting from broad farce to sudden ugliness without much warning.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels1998
A kinetic crime caper with interlocking plots, sharp dialogue, and a London underworld full of bizarre characters. It shares Two Hands' energy, humour, and the feeling that everyone's about to make a catastrophic mistake.
But The overlapping storylines can feel gimmicky, and the cockney-heavy dialogue occasionally obscures what's actually happening.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang2005
A Los Angeles noir-comedy about a small-time criminal and a wannabe actor trying to survive in a dangerous world. It has the same tonal balance—genuine threat mixed with comedy—and a protagonist in way over his head.
But The narration is heavy-handed and the twists feel more clever than earned. Some find Robert Downey Jr.'s performance exhausting.
In Bruges2008
Two hitmen hide in a medieval Belgian city after a job goes wrong. It's funny and violent by turns, grounded in character, with real emotional weight underneath the dark comedy. The specificity of place feels essential.
But It shifts tonally in ways that don't always land, and the ending sits uncomfortably between nihilism and redemption in a way that divides viewers.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Two Hands
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Mysterious Skin2005
Both films centre on young men in urban Australia trying to survive and escape, using dark humour and vulnerability to express what they cannot say directly. Two Hands is the comedy version; Mysterious Skin is what happens when the humour stops.
A film about two young men dealing with childhood sexual abuse, told through non-linear memories and present-day searching. It's tender and devastating, with genuine conversations about desire and trauma that most films never attempt.
But It contains explicit sexual content involving minors (not exploitative, but unflinching). It's emotionally exhausting and does not offer easy resolution. Many will find it unwatchable.
More like this (7)
Sexy Beast2001
A retired criminal in Spain is disrupted when a dangerous associate arrives. It's visually inventive, darkly funny, and features an unforgettable antagonist. It has Two Hands' sense of threat and unexpected comedy.
But The second half loses momentum. Ben Kingsley's performance is so strong it overshadows everything else.
Snatch2000
A London crime story involving stolen diamonds, boxing, and incompetent crooks. It has the same overlapping narratives, fast pacing, and blend of violence and humour as its spiritual cousin Lock Stock.
But The gimmickry outweighs character development, and the Romani stereotypes haven't aged well. It feels like style running ahead of substance.
This Is England2007
A skinhead film that starts as a coming-of-age story before turning into something darker and more violent. It's Australian-adjacent in its vernacular energy and has that same ability to be funny before becoming genuinely menacing.
But The violence is startling and the film doesn't look away from racism and fascism. It's punishing in ways some viewers won't accept.
The Gentlemen2020
A crime caper about a marijuana empire in London, told through interlocking perspectives. It's funny, stylish, and has genuine characters underneath the plot machinery.
But It's self-satisfied to the point of smugness. The twists feel less surprising than they think they are.
Macbeth2006
A Melbourne-set adaptation of Shakespeare that plays it straight but lets the Australian location and vernacular give it real texture. It has that same specificity of place and the feeling of a tight criminal world closing in.
But It's literalistically faithful to the play, which means some scenes feel theatrical rather than cinematic. Shakespeare purists and crime-film fans don't always overlap.
Summer of Sam1999
Both arrived in 1999 and both use crime as a lens to explore young masculinity in a specific place at a specific time. Summer of Sam is in constant chaos; Two Hands is tightly controlled. Watching them together shows how tone and style completely reshape the same material.
Spike Lee's chaotic film about paranoia, sexuality, and violence in 1970s New York during the Son of Sam killings. It's frenetic, visually wild, and genuinely interested in the moral questions underneath the crime story.
But It's overstuffed and structurally a mess. The satire sometimes feels cruel rather than incisive. Lee's stylistic excess overwhelms the story it's trying to tell.
Breaker Morant1980
Two Hands and Breaker Morant are both Australian films obsessed with how systems (crime, military, law) trap ordinary men and demand sacrifice. One is darkly comic; one is tragic. Both believe place and loyalty matter more than most films admit.
An Australian court-martial drama about a soldier executed for war crimes. It's beautifully shot, morally complex, and one of the finest political films ever made about justice and loyalty.
But It's slow, talky, and the courtroom scenes require patience. For anyone wanting crime thrills, it's contemplative and grave in entirely different ways.
People
Cast
Heath LedgerJimmy
Bryan BrownPando
Rose ByrneAlex
David FieldAcko
Tom LongWally- Tony ForrowEddie
- Mariel McCloreyHelen
Susie PorterDeirdre
Steven VidlerThe Man- Dale KalninsKiwi Bob
- Kiri ParamoreLes (Origami Presenter)
- William DruryJesus Freak
Directing
- Gregor JordanDirector
Writing
- Gregor JordanWriter
Production
- Christine KingCasting
- Bryce MenziesExecutive Producer
- Mark TurnbullExecutive Producer
- Timothy WhiteExecutive Producer
- Marian MacgowanProducer