Title: The Misguided
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Director: Shannon Alexander
Starring: Katherine Langford, Anna Philp, Caleb Galati
Runtime: 1 hr 28 mins

What It Is: Levi (Galati) is at his rock bottom, his girlfriend has left him and now he’s moving back in with his brother Wendel (Steven J. Mihaljevich). When Levi meets Wendel’s ex-girlfriend Sanja (Jasmine Nibali) the two instantly click in a romantic way. Given Wendel’s reputation, this makes Sanja’s sister Vesna (Langford) suspicious of Levi’s intentions. Levi, however, is not a whole lot like his brother, and he’s trying to prove it. Now the couple is trying to acquire funds to move to Sydney and start a new life together.  

What We Think: I had no idea coming in that this was an Australian film going in. Australia is on a win streak with me. Hounds of Love is a fantastic film ripe with tension, so is this. This film, however, has a little less tension but ups the funny just a bit. I really enjoyed the performances in this and thought Galati brought a lot to Levi. This is Mihalijevich’s show though. Wendel is the breakthrough for the whole experience. Alexander’s first feature film was a rousing success in that it shows his willingness to take a somewhat familiar narrative and spin it just enough.

Our Grade: B-, A worthy addition to Australias growing library of good thrillers. This seems to be THE genre those Aussies can get absolutely right. Who knew the girl from 13 Reasons Why was an Aussie? Not I said the cat. I can certainly see this film working in a similar vein to other films from down under in the Oceania region. This one is an obvious recommendation for anyone who wants a little bit of suspense, a little romance, and some laughs are thrown in.