Now Showing (Ron Elliott, Fremantle Press)

Over the years Perth-based screenwriter Ron Elliott has accumulated a drawer full of part-finished scripts or sketches for film or TV projects that haven’t come to fruition. Rather than letting them moulder, he’s turned five of them into short stories, collected as Now Showing. All use elements familiar to readers and viewers of roadfilm and/or pulp-noir classics—there are cars, guns, small-time crooks on the run, sexual tensions, wide-open spaces and the occasional violent action sequence. Black humour also features, more in some stories than others. ‘The Ring-in’ reads like Tarantino in suburban Perth, as a socially awkward taxi driver picks up his worst fare ever. ‘For the Birds’ lays on the quirky humour (although it doesn’t always succeed in being funny). ‘Double or Nothing’ expands its horizons from WA to Amsterdam and Scotland as a gambler tries to get lucky. All five stories are tightly plotted with well-drawn characters. As Elliott explains in his introduction, the discipline of screenwriting converts well into short stories with strong story arcs and instantly recognisable plot elements. This is a fun, readable collection, recommended for film-buffs and crime readers alike.

After nine years as editor and publisher of Books+Publishing and a year of freelancing, Tim Coronel is now the editor of film and media magazines Metro and Screen Education for ATOM

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

Category: Reviews