Cargo (2017 film)

Cargo
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Ben Howling Yolanda Ramke
Screenplay by	Yolanda Ramke
Based on	Cargo by Ben Howling Yolanda Ramke
Produced by	Russell Ackerman Kristina Ceyton Samantha Jennings Mark Patterson
Starring	Martin Freeman Simone Landers Anthony Hayes David Gulpilil Susie Porter Natasha Wanganeen Caren Pistorius
Cinematography	Geoffrey Simpson
Edited by	Dany Cooper Sean Lahiff
Production companies	Umbrella Entertainment Addictive Pictures Causeway Films Head Gear Films
Distributed by	Netflix
Release dates	6 October 2017 (2017-10-06) (ADLFF) 18 May 2018 (2018-05-18) (Worldwide)
Running time	105 minutes
Country	Australia
Language	English

Cargo is a 2017 Australian post-apocalyptic horror drama film directed by Ben Howling and Yolanda Ramke with a screenplay by Ramke based on their 2013 short film of the same name.^[1][2] The film stars Martin Freeman, Simone Landers, Anthony Hayes, David Gulpilil, Susie Porter, and Caren Pistorius.^[3] It premiered at the Adelaide Film Festival on 6 October 2017 and was released in cinemas in Australia on 17 May 2018, worldwide except for Australia on 18 May 2018 by Netflix and on Netflix in Australia on 16 November 2018.^[4]

Plot[]

In a world recently overtaken by a virus that turns people rabid within 48 hours, Andy Rose, his wife Kay, and their baby Rosie are traveling down a river on a houseboat in rural Australia. Short on food, Kay suggests going ashore and scavenging for food, but Andy rejects this, arguing it would be safer to remain on the river until they reach their destination, a supposed refuge. The next day, Andy searches an abandoned sailboat alone and retrieves some supplies. Kay ventures out to collect more, but is bitten by a rabid human.

When Andy finds Kay trying to bandage the bite wound, he insists on taking her to a hospital since she would bleed out long before succumbing to the virus. The Rose family disembarks, restarts an abandoned car, and sets out toward what their map indicates is a large town, but they swerve to avoid an Aboriginal man standing in the road and crash. Kay is impaled and Andy faints. When he wakes, Kay has already turned and then bites him. Andy removes Rosie from the car and prepares to defend himself against the man, who is also turned, but a girl named Thoomi appears and reveals that the man is her father, Willie Bell. Thoomi has been hiding Willie from her mother, Josie, and the rest of her community because the Aboriginals have been killing and burning the infected, and she believes her father can be cured by having a shaman restore his soul.

Andy reaches the town, but it is much smaller than expected and deserted apart from Etta, a schoolteacher who takes care of him and Rosie for the night. Etta explains that all of her students and their families, most of them Aboriginals, have discarded modern trappings and gone back to the old ways; she warns Andy to hide his bite mark. Andy wakes later than planned the next morning after experiencing his first seizure from the virus. When Andy and Rosie leave, Etta shows them a picture of Thoomi and her parents and tells Andy to find them and leave Rosie in their care.

Andy frees a man named Vic who is pinned under some gas cylinders, and Vic takes him to his shelter and introduces Lorraine, whom Andy assumes is Vic's wife. Andy learns that Vic uses healthy humans in cages as bait, one of whom is Thoomi, to lure out the infected so he can shoot them. That night, Andy attempts suicide, believing Rosie will be cared for by Vic and Lorraine, but Lorraine stops him and reveals that she is not Vic's wife, but his captive, and Vic murdered her real husband. Vic discovers them and knocks Andy out, and he awakens in the same cage as Thoomi. They help each other escape by using the combined force of many infected to pull open their cage; they return to the shelter, rendezvousing with Lorraine and Rosie. Vic shoots at them as they escape, and inadvertently kills Lorraine.

The following morning, Andy upsets Thoomi when he tells her that he and her father will not get better. She runs to where she had been hiding her father, but finds her people had already discovered Willie and put him down. Initially distraught and blaming Andy for delaying her, Thoomi relents and rejoins him when she hears Rosie crying. They travel by motorboat to a campsite where Andy previously saw another family, but learn that the father has been bitten and plans to kill his family and himself with a revolver. The father tells Andy to use the gun's last two bullets on himself and Rosie. When the family is dead, Andy takes up the gun and considers suicide, but is stopped by Thoomi. They then notice smoke nearby and move to investigate.

As the trio pass through a railway tunnel, they re-encounter Vic. Thoomi hides with Rosie, while Andy and Vic fight. During the struggle, Vic manages to grab the revolver and shoots Andy, then goes after Thoomi and Rosie. When Andy recovers, he finds Vic cradling Rosie and weeping over the loss of Lorraine. Vic peacefully returns Rosie to Andy and allows them and Thoomi to leave.

Later, Andy enters the final throes of infection. With his time almost gone, Andy asks Thoomi to look after Rosie. He and Thoomi prepare for his turning by binding his hands and preparing a piece of meat on a stick, which Thoomi uses to bait him once he has turned. In this manner, Thoomi uses Andy to carry her and Rosie safely on his back. They eventually catch up to a party of Aboriginal warriors that includes Thoomi's mother, who recognizes Thoomi's whistle. Overjoyed, Josie embraces Thoomi before taking Rosie off Andy. One of the warriors is about to kill Andy, but Thoomi stops him. She sprays some of Kay's perfume which allows Andy to regain his humanity just long enough to know that Rosie is now safe. Once done, Thoomi nods to the warrior to put Andy out of his misery. The party then returns to a camp deep in the wilderness, where many other survivors are shown living peacefully and safe in a community. Thoomi and Josie inspect Rosie, and find Andy had painted the words "Thank You" on her stomach. The film ends with a scene focusing on a tree with the decorations that Thoomi and Andy put there.

Cast[]

• Martin Freeman as Andy Rose
• Simone Landers as Thoomi Bell
• Anthony Hayes as Vic Carter
• Susie Porter as Kay Caine
• Caren Pistorius as Lorraine Cassidy
• David Gulpilil as Daku, the Clever Man
• Kris McQuade as Etta
• Bruce R. Carter as Willie Bell
• Natasha Wanganeen as Josie Bell

Release[]

The film was originally scheduled to be released on 8 June 2018.^[5] However, it was later brought forward to 18 May 2018.^[6][7][8][9] The film is dedicated in memory of Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, an Aboriginal Australian singer who died aged 46 on 26 July 2017.^[10]

Reception[]

Cargo received positive reviews from critics, praising its emotional depth and Freeman's performance. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 88%, based on 74 reviews, and an average rating of 7.17/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Cargo takes a refreshingly character-driven approach to the zombie genre that's further distinguished by its Australian setting and Martin Freeman's terrific lead performance."^[11] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 65 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[12]

The film has been described as a tribute to the 2009 film The Road.^[7][8] In a positive review, Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com stated he believed George A. Romero would have enjoyed the film.^[13] Clark Collins of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a 'B', saying: "The Australian setting brings a fresh, and epic, quality to this now done-to-death genre".^[14] However, Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter criticized the film for being "unlikely to satisfy either viewers looking for serious-minded fare or horror fans looking for genuine frights", but praised Freeman's "quietly intense" performance.^[15]

Accolades[]

References[]

External links[]

• Official website
• Cargo at IMDb