Director Matthew Saville’s track record is without a blemish in my eyes. His feature film Noise was exceptional. His work on Chris Lilley’s We Can Be Heroes was world class. And now he’s teamed up with Australia’s favourite “Every Man” Joel Edgerton on a modern suburban cop morality tale that ratchets up the intensity with every scene.

Edgerton wrote The Rover, and for David Michod’s follow up to Animal Kingdom, it left many disappointed – including me.

But Edgerton has proved himself with two decades in the film making business he has continually worked harder than many of his peers, not just honing his craft of acting, but developing new skills that have also improved with every outing.

A far as acting goes – when he’s on- he’s on. Warrior was fantastic and he owned that role up agains the formidable Tom Hardy.

In this film he’s pulled in other craftspeople who light up the screen in their respective roles, on and off camera.

The headliners Edgerton, Melissa George, Tom Wilkinson and Jai Courtney are excellent, and the direction from Saville is superior.

After knocking a young boy off his bike on a deserted street early in the morning on the way home from several too many celebratory drinks, Police Officer Malcolm Toohey (Edgerton) must wrestle with is conscience, his wife (George) his boss (Wilkinson) and his ambitious new colleague (Courtney), as he struggles to come to terms with the consequences of his action.

A film to stand tall on the world stage.

4 Stars.