Richard Roxburgh as journalist Peter Greste in The Correspondent.Credit:Maslow
In contrast,calmness is not part of Roxburgh’s repertoire. He has a nervy intensity that is equally effective whether he’s being funny,sad or desperate. And because desperation is very much part of the plot ofThe Correspondent,the story of Greste’s Egyptian experience,his casting works. You don’t care whether he looks like Greste or not.
The script by Peter Duncan – co-creator and writer ofRake,in which Roxburgh stars as the title character–is drawn from Greste’s memoir,The First Casualty.It has some added touches from conversations he and Duncan had during the writing. The aim is to put us inside Greste’s head during an ordeal that’s much like being caught in a maze. He is not quite sure how he got into it and the possibility of finding a way out becomes more remote as the months go on.
The action is set mainly in the claustrophobic confines of prisons and courtrooms with some flashbacks to an earlier tragedy in Greste’s career when a colleague,BBC reporter Kate Peyton,was shot dead on a street in Mogadishu while they were covering a story together.
In prison,the memory haunts him and while these flashbacks interrupt the narrative flow at times,you eventually understand the reason for them.
Richard Roxburgh as Peter Greste with,from left,Julian Maroun as Mohamed Fahmy and Rahel Romahn as Baher Mohamed in The Correspondent.Credit:Maslow
Greste’s memoir is subtitled “A Memoir from the Front Lines of the Global War on Journalism”. He’s making the point that his persecution is symptomatic of the dangers that journalists encounter everywhere.
The film’s supporting cast is made up of actors of Middle Eastern heritage based in Australia and the director,Kriv Stenders (Red Dog),shot the film in Sydney. This should not be a surprise given the action rarely takes us outdoors. Nonetheless,there’s something very alien about the setting and its atmosphere.