Movie vs. Reality: Snowtown
By Felix Quinonez Jr.
December 3, 2012
BoxOfficeProphets.com
In each entry of this column I’m going to be looking at a different movie “based on a true story” or whatever phrasing is attached to it and compare it to the actual story. Hopefully, I’ll be able to separate fact from Hollywood. But I’m also going to be talking about what those changes mean and why they were made. Do the changes have some artistic merit or are they just attempts to make the story fit into a neat Hollywood package?
It is often the case that what we see on the surface doesn’t tell the full story. Sometimes a rosy exterior is simply a veneer hiding a dark and seedy underbelly. Between 1992 and 1999, Salisbury North, a seemingly charming and quaint suburb of the capital city of Australia, was home to a series of grizzly homicides. During that time a group of men murdered 11 people. The leader, John Justin Bunting, had insinuated himself into the quiet neighborhood. And eventually he influenced the group of men and a teenage boy (Jamie Spyridon Vlassakis, 19) into helping him commit the murders. The bodies were eventually found in a neighboring town called Snowtown. Because of this, the murders were dubbed “The Snowtown Murders.”
The movie Snowtown, directed by Justin Kurzel, dramatizes the events. Released in 2011, it received general acclaim. The movie not only aspires to retell the events but it aims to create a feeling of being there as if the viewer was becoming a knowing accomplice simply by watching the film. In fact it is clear that the filmmakers were more interested in what was going on in the minds of the killers than making a documentary.
Snowtown’s main focus is Jamie Vlassakis (Lucas Pittaway). It aims to examine how a directionless youth could be seduced by the influence of a seemingly charming father figure and drawn into these murders. As he gradually falls under the dominance of Bunting, Vlassakis goes from bystander to murderer. But how accurate is Snowtown? Let’s find out.
What the Movie Got Right
Jamie has a pretty boring life. With his father gone, he lives with his mom and siblings. One day his mom’s boyfriend takes indecent pictures of the boys, but the police are unwilling to do anything about it. After some time, Barry (Richard Green), a gay man in the neighborhood, introduces her to a man named John Bunting (Daniel Henshall). Bunting hates pedophiles and homosexuals, so he begins to harass the boyfriend until he leaves town. The boys are very grateful for this and they - especially Jamie - begin to see John as a father figure.
Because John is a charismatic guy, he quickly becomes popular in the neighborhood. Pretty soon he is somewhat of a leader to the local residents and begins to hold meetings to discuss plans to improve the neighborhood. But his charm hides a very twisted man with a truly sick plan. As time goes on, John and Jamie grow closer and pretty soon John reveals his real plan to “improve” the neighborhood. John wants to kill people that he thinks are unworthy of living in the community.
Pretty soon, Jamie becomes more drawn into John’s violent and homophobic ways. And it is clear that he has fallen under John’s control. But John doesn’t stop with Jamie. He spreads his views to the rest of the neighborhood. One of John’s first acts in his agenda is to separate Barry (Richard Green) from his boyfriend Robert (Aaron Viergever). With no warning, Barry leaves the suburb. The only clue to his disappearance is a tape he made explaining that he is moving to Queensland.
Later on, when Jamie goes to visit his friend Gavin, John tags along. Gavin is a drug user and it becomes instantly clear that John doesn’t like him. And a few nights later, John takes Jamie to a garden shed. There we see the disposed bodies of Barry and Gavin. Although Jamie is at first enraged by this discovery, at this point he is too heavily influenced by John and remains subservient.
One night He drags Jamie’s half-brother Troy out of bed and tortures him. After doing this, he brings Jamie in to see the aftermath. Although it might be seen as an act of mercy, Jamie steps in and finishes the killing of Troy. This proves to be a major turning point for Jamie, who has become a lot more desensitized and helps John carry out more murders. We see the team of men dispose of the bodies in an abandoned bank in Snowtown.
Later on, we see Jamie persuade his other brother to look at a computer for sale at the Snowtown bank. The two drive there and when they get to the building, Jamie shuts the door of the bank as the screen fades to black. Through captions, we learn that On May 20, 1999 the police found the remains of eight people stored in barrels in the bank vault of Snowtown.
What the Movie Got Wrong
Although the murders last almost a decade, the movie makes it seem like they occurred over a much shorter period of time. No dates are shown and there are no clues to suggest the large time lapse.
In the movie we see a couple of the victims being forced to record a tape before murdered. As a way to explain prevent suspicion about their disappearances the killers had their victim explain that they are moving away. But in truth, it was a lot more complicated than that. And in some cases the killers actually impersonated the victims in calls made to loved ones to make it seem as if they were still alive.
The movie touches on Bunting’s agenda to “clean up” the neighborhood as his motivation for picking his victims. He goes after drug addicts, homosexuals, pedophiles and others he didn’t like. But the movie barely touches on the financial motivations. In almost all cases, they tortured their victims for bank account information before killing them. In some cases, the victims were receiving pensions of some kind and the killers went after that money. The fact that they were withdrawing one of their victim’s pensions every month from the same ATM helped the police track them.
One of the victims is Jamie’s half brother, Troy. The movie makes it appear as if he’s chosen mostly because John doesn’t like him. It seems as if Jamie and Troy have a normal relationship. Aside from some bullying from Troy, they seem to get along fine. But in reality, Troy had sexually abused Jamie.
Verdict
Snowtown is a very powerful and disturbing movie. It doesn’t seek out to recreate all of the events or to give the viewer all of the information. Instead, the movie is a powerful case study on Jamie. It portrays his journey as an impressionable young man who is influenced into becoming a murderer.
But it also seems that the filmmakers chose what to show in order to get the narrative they had in mind come across on screen. In their hopes to show that someone could be influenced into becoming a murderer, the film portrays Jamie as more innocent and less involved in the killings than he really was. In fact, at times it seems as if the movie is trying to portray Jamie as a tragic hero of some sort. It almost seems surprising to learn that Jamie is now in prison and won’t be eligible for parole until he is 45…until you remember that he is a murderer.
Regardless of the filmmaker’s agenda, Snowtown is a gripping movie that will stick with you, for better or worse.
Next Time: Permanent Midnight