WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY :
Daniel Green
About the Film
Damien Gooding is a man of vision. Unfortunately, he’s also a man of impending eviction. A Sydney indie f ilmmaker living on caffeine and credit card debt, Damien is betting his life on Desert Thief Down—his blockbuster action script that only needs two small things: a distribution deal and a casual $50 million budget. When studio executive Bobby Berman (Anthony Brandon Wong) offers him a seat at the table with industry execs, Damien’s "big break" is finally within reach. There is, however, a catch: to get the green light, he needs to attach a "name." And he needs them in seven days. With the clock ticking and zero A-listers on speed dial, Damien is forced to pivot from the red carpet to the red dirt. He coerces his estranged, salt-of-the-earth father, Dallas (Andy McPhee), into Dallas’ vintage 4WD for an outback odyssey to track down an elusive star. Under the thin guise of "making amends," Damien drags his father across the desert in a desperate, hilarious hunt for a saviour.
Cast:
Damien - Daniel Green
Dallas - Andy McPhee
Ronnie - Emm Wiseman
Bobby - Anthony Brandon Wong
Celia - Benita Collings
Film Details
Completed : 2025
Running Time : 97m
Country of Origin : Australia
Screener Link : Click HERE (password required)
Genre : Comedy, Family Drama
Directors Statement
-
My creative approach was to treat the environment not as a setting, but as an active participant in the protagonist's psychological unraveling and eventual return to self. Ultimately, my goal was to make audiences think and feel. The Architecture of Identity. The core of this film is Damien’s journey from "being someone" to being himself. After years of performing for the city and the industry, Damien has become a shell of artifice. I chose to represent this through his shifting relationships with the people around him. He is caught between the hollow, transactional world of studio exec Bobby Berman and the visceral, biological reality of his father, Dallas. Similarly, his journey from the shallow gloss of girlfriend Sara to the grounded depth of love interest Ronnie serves as a mirror for his own internal restoration. Visual Dualism. To emphasise these polar worlds, I employed two distinct visual languages. The Sydney sequences utilise tight, claustrophobic framing and a desaturated colour palette to reflect the facade of showbiz and the suffocating pressure of urban debt. In contrast, the outback sequences introduce the expansive richness of the horizon. By shifting to wide-angle cinematography and deep, saturated earthy tones, the film visually exhales. This expansive imagery tracks Damien’s transformation as he sheds his city skin and reconnects with his true nature. The Kinetic Character. The FJ45 LandCruiser serves as the film’s third lead character. It is the nostalgic bridge between these worlds—honest, rugged, and real. As the vehicle moves deeper into the desert, it strips away Damien’s pretences, acting as a catalyst for his return to his roots. Aural Landscapes. The soundscape follows this same binary logic. The city is a cacophony of busy, overlapping noise, representing Damien’s internal state of "spontaneous combustion." As he moves into the country, the audio transitions to a deliberate, humbler quiet. This silence is designed to strip away the protagonist's distractions, forcing him to finally hear the truth of his own circumstances and rediscover the man he was before he left his country roots in search of fame and fortune. Through these choices, The Better Man becomes an odyssey of rediscovery—a journey from the shallow shadows of the city to the expansive, honest richness of the red dirt.
Movie Poster
Gallery
