Joel Edgerton Movies
A native of Blacktown, New South Wales, Australia, actor Joel Edgerton grew up in the town of Dural, where he attended primary and secondary school. After high school, the aspiring thespian attended the Nepean Drama School on the Kingswood Campus at the University of Western Sydney, graduating in 1994. Cinematically, he divided his subsequent efforts between producing (for his Blue Tongue Films production shingle, co-run with his brother) and acting, but placed the greatest emphasis on acting. Early features (produced mostly in Australia) included Praise (1998), Dogwatch (1999), and Erskineville Kings (1999), but Edgerton came into his own with his popular ongoing turn as Will McGill on the Aussie soaper The Secret Life of Us, then branched out into increased international exposure with onscreen contributions to two of George Lucas' Star Wars films, Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones (2002) and Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith (2005). Those assignments represented something of a watershed for Edgerton, who then worked predominantly on higher profiled features, including Joe Carnahan's Smokin' Aces (2007) and Tatia Rosenthal's $9.99 (2008). ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- 2008
Temptation turns a man's life upside down in this noir-influenced thriller from Australia. Ray Yale (David Roberts) is a construction worker who is married to Martha (Lucy Bell) and is helping to build an upscale resort hotel just outside Sydney. Ray isn't entirely happy in his marriage, and his roving eye has become focused on Carla (Claire van der Boom), a hairdresser who lives next door. Carla is married to a low-level mobster, Greg (Anthony Hayes), but she craves excitement and is soon having a torrid affair with Ray. Carla knows that Greg has a large bundle of cash hidden in their home, and she hatches a scheme she shares with Ray -- they steal they money, set fire to the house, and run off together, with Greg imagining the cash was lost in the blaze. While Ray isn't interested in a life of crime, he can't say no to Carla, but when he develops cold feet at the last minute, his attempts to reach Billy (Joel Edgerton), who was hired to torch the house, are unsuccessful, and things take a turn for the worse when he learns that Greg's aged mother was in the house when it burned to the ground. Ray quickly realizes he's been implicated in a murder, and Billy doesn't hesitate to use this knowledge to his advantage. The Square was the first directorial project for Nash Edgerton, who previously was one of the leading stuntmen in the Aussie film industry. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Roberts, Claire Van Der Boom, (more)
Mia Goldman's psychological drama Open Window stars Joel Edgerton and Robbin Tunney as a husband and wife who have intense professional lives, but are able to rely on each other during their time together at home. One night the wife is raped, sending her into a depression that threatens to crumble the marriage. Elliott Gould and Cybil Shepherd portray the wife's parents. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Tunney, Joel Edgerton, (more)
A failing shoe factory that's struggling to maintain its footing following the death of its founder finds the inspiration needed to stay in business from the most unlikely of sources in veteran British director Julian Jarrold's warmhearted tale of fancy footwear and changing times. Charlie Price (Joel Edgerton) just can't seem to keep the factory afloat on his own, and with the livelihood of his entire small town hanging in the balance, he needs to come up with something truly groundbreaking. Lola (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is a sassy female impersonator with a flair for style and a great mind for design. Though on paper their inventive scheme to save the factory may sound too outrageous to be true, stranger things have happened in the world of business, and if it doesn't break them, it may just transform them into the richest footwear manufacturers in all of England. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joel Edgerton, Chiwetel Ejiofor, (more)
Australian filmmaker Paul Goldman directs the comedy The Night We Called It a Day, based on the actual events during Frank Sinatra's 1974 tour stop in Sydney. Joel Edgerton plays Rod Blue, a long-haired rock promoter in Australia during the '70s. He hopes to save his floundering career by spending all his money booking Frank Sinatra (Dennis Hopper). But when Sinatra arrives with his girlfriend Barbara Marx (Melanie Griffith), he insults the locals by calling reporter Hilary Hunter (Portia de Rossi) "a two-dollar whore." Union leader and future Australian prime minister Bob Hawke (David Field) tries to cancel the tour unless he apologizes, and it's up to Rod and his assistant Audrey (Rose Byrne) to step in and save the tour. Tom Burlinson performs Sinatra's vocal parts. The Night We Called It a Day was shown at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Hopper, Melanie Griffith, (more)
- 2002
The Australian sitcom Dossa and Joe represented the long awaited return to TV of writer/director Caroline Ahern, who'd sworn that she was through with the Tube after several years' toil on the British comedy weekly The Royle Family. Anne Charleston and Michael Caton starred as Dossa and Joe, a Sydney couple who'd been married for 40 years. But though they'd lived together for four decades, the couple never really knew each other until Joe retired from his job. Quickly getting on one another's nerves, Dossa and Joe retreated to the offices of a marriage counselor in hopes of retrieving whatever it was that had brought them together in the first place. Produced by the Australian branch of Granada Television, Dossa and Joe premiered Down Under in the spring of 2002, with a British TV premiere promised a few weeks later. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2000
The comedy team that made the phrase "nyuk nyuk nyuk" part of the American vocabulary gets the full biographical treatment in this made-for-TV feature. The Three Stooges opens in 1959, as a TV executive tries to persuade Moe Howard (Paul Ben-Victor) to reunite with his former onscreen partners to publicize the television premiere of a package of Three Stooges classic comedy shorts. Howard then flashes back on his long and remarkable career, as vaudeville star Ted Healy (Marton Csokas) assembles Moe Howard, sibling Shemp Howard (John Kassir), and Larry Fine (Evan Handler) as "stooges" for his stage act. As Moe, Shemp, and Larry gain popularity, a jealous Healy forces them to strike out on their own, but after many grueling years on the road, Columbia Pictures head Harry Cohn (Linal Haft) offers them a chance to star in their own series of two-reel comedies. But Shemp, always stage-shy, backs out of the group, and his brother Jerome (Michael Chiklis) -- aka "Curly" -- takes over, and the Three Stooges become a sensation. However, success proves to be a bumpy road for the group, as a bad deal with Columbia prevents them from reaping the full benefits of their success, and a serious illness forces Curly to quit, bringing Shemp back into the act. Mel Gibson was an executive producer for this biopic, which first aired on ABC on April 24, 2000. Incidentally, this wasn't Michael Chiklis' first time playing an icon of American comedy; he portrayed John Belushi in the 1989 drama Wired. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Ben-Victor, Rachael Blake, (more)
- 2000
Dubbed an Australian Pulp Fiction for the rave generation, this slick, achingly-cool crime drama is set in seedy Sydney neighborhoods not likely found in the glossy pages of summer Olympic tourist brochures. TT (David Field), a violent and very wealthy drug lord, is betrayed by his mistress Jess (pop-sensation Kylie Minogue) and her beau Andy (Simon Lyndon), who plan on robbing him of cash and dope. Unfortunately, TT is hip to their scheming. Meanwhile, rock musician Sem (Joel Edgerton) has a vision that his girlfriend Cleo (Paula Arundell) is in peril. Sem wants to start a new life with her far away from the city, but his plans are hampered by the weirdly-epicene John (Ben Mendelsohn) who leads them astray. At the same time, Len (Nathan Page), who works a thankless job at a falafel stand, pines for the fetching young lass DJ Lush Puppy (Nathalie Roy). Finally, there's Joey (Justin Rosniak), a rather thick kid who thinks that he's a gangbanger straight outta Compton. His friend Gus (Matthew Wilkinson) realizes that his buddy has a gun and is dumb enough to use it. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paula Arundell, Joel Edgerton, (more)
- 1999
Australian director Alan White creates this bleak but gorgeously photographed urban drama about life in Sydney's seedy inner suburbs. Hoping to escape his dad's drunken and abusive behavior, Barky runs away from home to cut cane in the north of the country. Two years later, he returns to his down-and-out hometown to attend the funeral of his father and to make amends with his brother Wace, with whom he had a falling-out. As he meets up with old friends and his ex-girlfriend Lanny, Barky reveals more and more about the enigmatic workings of his mind and the grim circumstances of his upbringing. Shot on a very low budget, the film nonetheless creates a compelling portrait of this gritty, oppressive land. Erskineville Kings was screened at the 1999 Montreal Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hugh Jackman, Anik Chooney, (more)
Praise is a love story about a man and a woman, both of whom have low self-esteem, and another woman from the man's past. Obsessive Cynthia suffers from a skin disorder and an insatiable desire for men. She sees something special in Gordon, who is twenty-five, unemployed, a chain smoker and asthmatic. She invites him to a party where he is the only guest. After much alcohol, grass, Scrabble, and conversation, they make love. But just as Gordon is ready to lose himself in this new experience, his old love Rachel appears. His body now belongs to Cynthia, but Rachel still has his soul. In the meantime, Gordon's lungs are collapsing. In his first film, Australian director John J. Curran examines human frailties with insight. Praise was screened as part of the Panorama section of the 49th International Berlin Film Festival, 1999. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Fenton, Sacha Horler, (more)
- 2008
- R
A jobless 28-year-old residing in an apartment with his single father discovers the meaning of life for a bargain-basement price in this stop-motion animation film featuring the voices of Ben Mendelsohn, Barry Otto, Anthony LaPaglia, and Geoffrey Rush. Dave has made it his mission to discover the meaning of life, so when he stumbles across a book claiming to answer just that question for the low, low price of just $9.99, he can't help but make an impulse purchase. Much to his surprise, the book contains all the answers he's been searching for, a revelation that compels him to share this newfound information with his neighbors -- an eccentric bunch whose stories gradually intertwine to offer a revealing portrait of their hopes, loves, and spiritual beliefs. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Geoffrey Rush, Anthony LaPaglia, (more)
An ex-con looking to start life anew with his loving fiancée resorts to extreme measures as a means of funding his lifelong dream in director Stewart Hendler's dark supernatural thriller. Max Truemont (Josh Holloway) has served his debt to society, and now he is ready to make a fresh start alongside his faithful fiancée, Roxanne (Sarah Wayne Callies). When the bank takes umbrage to Max's manslaughter conviction and refuses to approve his loan application, the desperate recidivist soon joins forces with a pair of shady associates to carry out what promises to be a lucrative kidnapping. Upon abducting the eight-year-old son of the richest woman in the state, Max, Roxanne, and their criminal collaborators travel to a secluded and abandoned summer camp to await further instruction. Now, as loyalties begin to shift, suspicions arise, and the deteriorating situation appears to go into a menacing downward spiral, Max gradually begins to suspect that their young hostage may not be quite as innocent as outward appearances suggest. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Josh Holloway, Sarah Wayne Callies, (more)
When a shifty magician turns state's evidence against a Las Vegas underworld heavy, the high price placed on his head sparks a fevered race to rub the snitch out and collect a tidy paycheck in Narc director Joe Carnahan's dark action comedy. Buddy "Aces" Israel (Jeremy Piven) is a small-time scammer who has somehow managed to get the goods on big-time mobster Primo Sparazza. Upon discovering that Buddy is about to deliver the evidence needed to get him thrown in jail for life, Primo takes out a sizable contract on Buddy that entices every two-bit thug, grizzled bounty hunter, deadly vixen, skilled assassin, and ladder-climbing Mafioso within a hundred-mile radius into taking a shot at the prize. Now holed up in his luxurious Lake Tahoe hideout with only two FBI agents (Ryan Reynolds and Ray Liotta) standing between him from a virtual army of money-hungry rogues, Buddy is about to find out just how far this motley crew of killers is willing to go in order to take him out and hit the jackpot. Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Andy Garcia, Alicia Keys, and Martin Henderson co-star in a bullet-strewn, ensemble crime comedy that never stops to reload. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Affleck, Andy Garcia, (more)
Gregor Jordan's version of the Australian legend Ned Kelly stars Heath Ledger as the title outlaw. Sixteen-year-old Irish immigrant Ned is sentenced to three years in prison for stealing a horse. After his release he finds work tending to horses owned by Richard Cook (Nicholas Bell), whose wife (Naomi Watts) grows interested in Ned. Fitzpatrick (Kiri Paramore) is a police officer with a yen for Ned's sister Kate (Kerry Condon). When she rejects him, Fitzpatrick steals the family's animals. The brothers are falsely accused of a crime and go into hiding, leading to the assault and arrest of their beloved mother. Francis Hare (Geoffrey Rush) is eventually brought on to stop the gang that becomes famous after a string of bank robberies. The film also features Orlando Bloom (of Lord of the Rings fame) and Rachel Griffiths (Six Feet Under). The most recent version of this oft-filmed tale featured Mick Jagger as the infamous Kelly in 1970. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Heath Ledger, Orlando Bloom, (more)
Three brothers who would argue that crime does pay have a hard time getting their fair share of the proceeds in this witty action thriller from Australia. Dale Twentyman (Guy Pearce) and his brothers, Mal (Damien Richardson) and Shane (Joel Edgerton), are serving time together in prison for robbery. Dale is the brains and the cool head of the group, Mal is the eager-to-please nice guy, and Shane is something of a loose cannon. Dale and his siblings are eager to get out of jail, and their lawyer, Frank Malone (Robert Taylor), has pulled a deal that could pare some time off their sentences, though the arrangement is strictly off the books. Mick Kelly (Vince Colosimo) and Jack O'Riordan (Paul Sonkkila) are a pair of crooked police detectives who have arranged with Malone to give the Twentyman brothers day passes from jail in order to pull bank robberies, with the siblings' share held in escrow until they're released. Dale thinks something a bit off in this operation, and his suspicions are confirmed when Malone tells the brothers after they're granted their early release that they won't get their money until they pull one last job -- an ambitious robbery at a Melbourne race track on the day of the nation's biggest horse race. Dale is convinced he smells a rat -- especially since he has good reason to suspect that Malone is having an affair with his wife, Carol (Rachel Griffiths). The Hard Word marked the directorial debut for writer/director Scott Roberts. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Guy Pearce, Rachel Griffiths, (more)
- 2005
- PG13
- Add Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith to QueueAdd Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith to top of Queue
George Lucas draws the Star Wars film series to a close with this dark sci-fi adventure which sets the stage for the events of the first film and brings the saga full circle. After a fierce battle in which Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor) and Anakin (Hayden Christensen) join Republic forces to help free Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) from the evil Count Dooku (Christopher Lee) and his minions, Anakin is drawn into Palpatine's confidence. Palpatine has designs on expanding his rule, and with this in mind he plants seeds of doubt in Anakin's mind about the strength and wisdom of the Jedis. Anakin is already in a quandary about how to reveal to others the news of his secret marriage to Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman) now that she is pregnant, and visions which foretell her death in childbirth weigh heavy on his mind. As Anakin finds himself used by both the Jedis and the Republic for their own purposes -- particularly after Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) expresses his distrust of the young Jedi -- he turns more and more to the Force for help, but begins to succumb to the temptations of its dark side. Many of the Star Wars series regulars returned for Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith, including Frank Oz as the voice of Yoda, Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, Kenny Baker as R2-D2, and Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hayden Christensen, Ewan McGregor, (more)
An ambitious attempt to wed the legend of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table with known historical facts of the era, this action adventure drama begins with the fall of the Roman Empire in 450 A.D. as Roman armies flee the British Isles. Arthur (Clive Owen), a heroic knight and devoted Christian, is torn between his desire to travel to Rome to serve his faith and his loyalty to the land of his birth. As England falls into lawlessness, Arthur throws in his lot with a band of knights who hope to restore order to their fair and pleasant land and hopes to win freedom for his comrades, among them Lancelot (Ioan Gruffudd), Galahad (Hugh Dancy), Tristan (Mads Mikkelsen), Gawain (Joel Edgerton), Bors (Ray Winstone), and Dagonet (Ray Stevenson). In time, Arthur and his men join forces with Merlin (Stephen Dillane), a shaman whose band of renegade knights were often pitched in battle against Roman forces. Forming a united front as loyal Englishmen against the invading Saxon armies, Arthur, Merlin, and the brave and beautiful Guinevere (Keira Knightley) are determined to unite a sovereign Britain under one army and one king. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clive Owen, Keira Knightley, (more)
- 2002
- PG
- Add Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones to QueueAdd Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones to top of Queue
The second prequel to the original Star Wars trilogy takes place ten years after the events depicted in Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace. Now 20, young Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) is an apprentice to respected Jedi knight Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor). Unusually powerful in the Force, Anakin is also impatient, arrogant, and headstrong -- causing his mentor a great deal of concern. The pair are ordered to protect Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman), the former queen of the planet Naboo, now representing her world in the Galactic Senate. Someone is trying to assassinate her on the eve of a vote enabling Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) to build a military force that will safeguard against a growing separatist movement led by mysterious former Jedi Count Dooku (Christopher Lee). After another attempt on Padme's life, Obi-Wan and Anakin separate. The young Jedi and Padme fall in love as he escorts her first to the security of Naboo and then to his home world of Tatooine, where the fate of his mother leads him to commit an ominous atrocity. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan travels to the secretive planet Kamino and the asteroid-ringed world of Geonosis, following bounty hunter Jango Fett (Temuera Morrison) and his son, Boba (Daniel Logan), who are involved in an operation to create a massive army of clones. A vicious battle ensues between the clones and Jedi on one side and Dooku's droids on the other, but who is really pulling the strings in this galactic conflict? In late 2002, the movie was released in IMAX theaters as Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones: The IMAX Experience, with a pared-down running time of 120 minutes in order to meet the technical requirements of the large-screen format. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, (more)
Three teenagers find their longtime friendship crumbling after enlisting the aid of a ruthless serial killer in ridding themselves of a relentless bully in this dark thriller from Redball director Jon Hewitt. High school has been a living hell for shy teens Mark (Sebastian Gregory and James (Joshua Payne); classroom bully Gary Parker has made it his life mission to ensure that their suffering doesn't end until graduation day, and it's obvious he relishes his work. Now that graduation day is drawing near, Mark and James begin making plans to strike back at Gary with a vengeance. Then, shortly after the disappearance of a female classmate, Mark discovers a fresh grave in the woods near his quiet suburban neighborhood, and witnesses an SUV speeding away from the scene. Returning to the site later that day with James and his girlfriend Chasely (Hanna Mangan-Lawrence), Mark decides to grab a shovel and go to work. No one expected to find anything more incriminating than a dead family pet, so when the earth splits open to reveal the corpse of a Canadian backpacker, the trio makes it their mission to track down the killer and blackmail him into exacting violent revenge on their old nemesis Gary. But this is one killer who doesn't play by the rules, and by the time he turns the tables on Mark, Gary, and Chasely, the three teens realize that their only hope for escape is to confront their darkest fears head on. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joel Edgerton, Sebastian Gregory, (more)
