Gold (2022 film)

Gold
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Anthony Hayes
Written by	Anthony Hayes Polly Smyth
Produced by	Anthony Hayes John Schwarz Michael Schwarz
Starring	Zac Efron Susie Porter Anthony Hayes
Cinematography	Ross Giardina
Edited by	Sean Lahiff
Music by	Antony Partos
Production companies	Deeper Water Films Rogue Star Pictures South Australian Film Corporation Screen Australia Stan
Distributed by	Madman Entertainment
Release date	13 January 2022 (2022-01-13)
Country	Australia
Language	English
Box office	$129,480[1]

Gold is a 2022 Australian survival thriller film directed by Anthony Hayes. It stars Zac Efron, Susie Porter, and Anthony Hayes. The film received a limited theatrical on January 13, 2022, before making its debut on streaming service Stan on January 26, 2022.^[2] It received positive reviews from critics.

Plot[]

In a dystopian near-future, a lone traveller named Virgil arrives at an outpost and pays local man Keith to transport him to an area known as The Compound. Travelling through an inhospitable desert, the two eventually discover an enormous gold nugget in a remote area. After failing to extract it with their basic tools and truck, Virgil agrees to stay with the gold whilst Keith leaves to try and find an excavator. Left alone in the desert with limited food, water, and radio contact, Virgil begins to deteriorate both physically and mentally as paranoia sets in. He makes himself a shelter from the sun using pieces from a crashed plane.

After several days awaiting Keith's return, Virgil encounters a lone woman scavenging nearby. After the woman becomes suspicious, Virgil kills her and buries her body. A day later, a sandstorm leaves Virgil wounded. He encounters another female scavenger who claims to be the earlier woman's sister. Virgil makes contact with Keith via radio, who informs Virgil he is close by. Critically injured, Virgil is attacked and killed by a pack of wild dogs. Keith is revealed to be watching nearby, waiting with the excavation equipment. As he moves in to extract the gold, Keith is shot in the chest with an arrow presumably fired by the second scavenger.

Cast[]

• Zac Efron as Virgil (credited as "man one")
• Anthony Hayes as Keith (credited as "man two")
• Susie Porter as the Stranger and the Stranger's sister
• Andreas Sobik as an outpost attendant

Production[]

In November 2020 it was announced that Zac Efron had signed on to the film, which was being sold at AFM by Altitude Entertainment with CAA co-repping the domestic USA territory. The film was to be directed by Anthony Hayes, who would also star, from a screenplay he co-wrote alongside Polly Smyth. And produced by John Schwarz, Michael Schwarz and Anthony Hayes.^{[citation needed]}

Later, it was announced, Susie Porter had joined the cast of the film, with the film set to play on Stan in Australia as a Stan Original with Stan backing the film, after Madman Entertainment theatrically distribute in Australia.^[3][4]

Principal photography began in November 2020 in outback South Australia, in the Flinders Ranges and Leigh Creek.^[5] The film includes a desert sandstorm scene, for which fans and sand were transported to the desert location. However a real sandstorm began in the region and the actors agreed to shoot in it instead. Efron also broke a bone in his hand halfway through the shoot, but concealed it from the crew to avoid stalling production.^[6]

Release[]

In June 2021, Screen Media Films acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film in a bidding war.^[7] In June 2021, Altitude Films announced it had sold the film to all but two territories around the world.^[8]

Reception[]

In Australia, the film grossed $2,741 from ten theaters in its opening weekend.^[9]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 89% of 9 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.3/10.^[10] A 3/5 star review in The Guardian praised the cinematography and Efron's performance, but found the plot sparse.^[11]

References[]

External links[]

• Gold at IMDb