Film delves into darkest past

Cinematical reviews Out of the Blue, Robert Sarkies’ controversial new film about the 1990 Aramoana massacre. The film stars Matthew Sunderland as David Gray, the gunman who killed 13 of his neighbours in the small coastal town. Cinematical: “The film handles the dreadful events of that day, and the grief of the town, quite respectfully, while staying as true to the facts as possible, based on police reports and survivor accounts and, perhaps more importantly, by keeping the focus on the people of Aramoana and their response to the tragedy, rather than focusing heavily on Gray.” Out of the Blue has caused considerable consternation in NZ, with many feeling it is too soon to see the tragedy unfold on screen. Chief censor Bill Hastings will meet with families of the victims to discuss the classification of the film. “People are still alive that have had to deal with the original event – it’s not as if it’s a film about World War 1,” he says in Stuff. “It’s a live issue, so it presents an unusual situation.”