Fighting Fear

A version of this review appeared in The Age, November 10, 2011.

Mark Matthews makes his living travelling around in search of the world's biggest waves.  His good mate Richie Vaculik is another pro surfer, who moonlights as a champion cage fighter. Both were immersed from an early age in the hyper-competitive Sydney surf culture – and Macario de Souza's documentary can't help but glorify their daredevil behaviour, even as it sets out to warn young viewers about the dangers on the road to manhood.

Vaculik, the party animal of the pair, goes to court on assault charges; Matthews gets knocked out by a big wave and loses his confidence for a while.  But in the end they overcome these obstacles, and, not too surprisingly, life goes on.

De Souza made a splash a few years ago with Bra Boys, a documentary on the famous Sydney surf gang which he co-directed. With its ramped-up editing and music, Fighting Fear like its predecessor resembles an advertisement for its leading men, who despite their foibles make no secret of viewing themselves as top blokes.

Joel Edgerton is the official narrator, but Matthews and Vaculik dominate the soundtrack to the point where we might as well be listening to the DVD commentary rather than watching the film itself. Unfortunately, they don't have a lot of interesting things to say, even when they're rabbiting on about how much they've matured. By contrast, the world surfing champ Kelly Slater seems as thoughtful and grounded as usual; if he's ready to vouch for these guys, they can't be all bad.