Kurts, Alwyn

Efficiency Expert

Mel Gibson in Colleen McCullough's Tim

Efficiency Expert

The Efficiency Expert (released in theaters as Spotswood), a warm-hearted, wacky comedy with a social conscience, takes place in Australia in the "Swinging '60s," and its character, substance, music, and design are so authentic one nearly forgets that it was made in 1991. Sir Anthony Hopkins is wonderful as Errol Wallace, the efficiency expert of the title, who devises painful belt-tightening measures for struggling companies. Wallace is hired to modernize the dotty, antiquated Ball Moccasin Factory, and he's stunned at the impossibility of the task. The cutting room resembles a workshop full of Santa's elves; the men literally dance jigs while they work. Still, Wallace takes the bull by the horns and deputizes a young man, Carey (the winning Ben Mendelsohn), to help him downsize the factory. It's like trying to disband a tribe; many of the employees have been there for 30 years; romances blossom there. Homely Wendy (Toni Colette, of Muriel's Wedding and The Sixth Sense) loves Ben, but he lusts after tarty Cheryl (Rebecca Rigg), whose nasty shark of a boyfriend, Kim, is played by a young Russell Crowe. Wallace thinks he's teaching these factory workers how business works, but it's he who learns a lesson. "Work isn't just about money," declares old Mr. Ball, the factory's owner (the exceedingly touching Alwyn Kurts). "It's about dignity, about treating people with respect. People need to make things." The movie's message has timeless resonance, as job security and pride in manufacturing vanishes from large industrialized nations. --Laura Mirsky

Tim

All actors have to try a mental-impairment role at some point in their careers (don't they?), and Mel Gibson took his best shot with this sweet film about a young retarded man and his gentle relationship with an older woman (Piper Laurie) who teaches him to read and to adjust to the real world. Tim's parents come to trust the woman's honorable intentions, but the movie still gives Mel's female fans a lot to swoon over; it's a platonic romance with plenty of temptation that's never acted upon. Add to that the fact that Gibson's really quite good in the title role--after Mad Max, this was Mel's first widely seen opportunity to prove himself in a dramatic role before his higher-profile roles in The Road Warrior and Gallipoli. Tim is a bit too schmaltzy and sentimental, but this 1979 release has gained a loyal audience over the years, and the film has a lot more than just a young Mel Gibson to recommend it. --Jeff Shannon

Tim

Hollywood Hot Shots, Vol. 2 - Tim/The Touch

Tim

All actors have to try a mental-impairment role at some point in their careers (don't they?), and Mel Gibson took his best shot with this sweet film about a young retarded man and his gentle relationship with an older woman (Piper Laurie) who teaches him to read and to adjust to the real world. Tim's parents come to trust the woman's honorable intentions, but the movie still gives Mel's female fans a lot to swoon over; it's a platonic romance with plenty of temptation that's never acted upon. Add to that the fact that Gibson's really quite good in the title role--after Mad Max, this was Mel's first widely seen opportunity to prove himself in a dramatic role before his higher-profile roles in The Road Warrior and Gallipoli. Tim is a bit too schmaltzy and sentimental, but this 1979 release has gained a loyal audience over the years, and the film has a lot more than just a young Mel Gibson to recommend it. --Jeff Shannon

Tim [Region 2]

All actors have to try a mental-impairment role at some point in their careers (don't they?), and Mel Gibson took his best shot with this sweet film about a young retarded man and his gentle relationship with an older woman (Piper Laurie) who teaches him to read and to adjust to the real world. Tim's parents come to trust the woman's honorable intentions, but the movie still gives Mel's female fans a lot to swoon over; it's a platonic romance with plenty of temptation that's never acted upon. Add to that the fact that Gibson's really quite good in the title role--after Mad Max, this was Mel's first widely seen opportunity to prove himself in a dramatic role before his higher-profile roles in The Road Warrior and Gallipoli. Tim is a bit too schmaltzy and sentimental, but this 1979 release has gained a loyal audience over the years, and the film has a lot more than just a young Mel Gibson to recommend it. --Jeff Shannon

Tim

All actors have to try a mental-impairment role at some point in their careers (don't they?), and Mel Gibson took his best shot with this sweet film about a young retarded man and his gentle relationship with an older woman (Piper Laurie) who teaches him to read and to adjust to the real world. Tim's parents come to trust the woman's honorable intentions, but the movie still gives Mel's female fans a lot to swoon over; it's a platonic romance with plenty of temptation that's never acted upon. Add to that the fact that Gibson's really quite good in the title role--after Mad Max, this was Mel's first widely seen opportunity to prove himself in a dramatic role before his higher-profile roles in The Road Warrior and Gallipoli. Tim is a bit too schmaltzy and sentimental, but this 1979 release has gained a loyal audience over the years, and the film has a lot more than just a young Mel Gibson to recommend it. --Jeff Shannon

The Efficiency Expert

The Efficiency Expert (released in theaters as Spotswood), a warm-hearted, wacky comedy with a social conscience, takes place in Australia in the "Swinging '60s," and its character, substance, music, and design are so authentic one nearly forgets that it was made in 1991. Sir Anthony Hopkins is wonderful as Errol Wallace, the efficiency expert of the title, who devises painful belt-tightening measures for struggling companies. Wallace is hired to modernize the dotty, antiquated Ball Moccasin Factory, and he's stunned at the impossibility of the task. The cutting room resembles a workshop full of Santa's elves; the men literally dance jigs while they work. Still, Wallace takes the bull by the horns and deputizes a young man, Carey (the winning Ben Mendelsohn), to help him downsize the factory. It's like trying to disband a tribe; many of the employees have been there for 30 years; romances blossom there. Homely Wendy (Toni Colette, of Muriel's Wedding and The Sixth Sense) loves Ben, but he lusts after tarty Cheryl (Rebecca Rigg), whose nasty shark of a boyfriend, Kim, is played by a young Russell Crowe. Wallace thinks he's teaching these factory workers how business works, but it's he who learns a lesson. "Work isn't just about money," declares old Mr. Ball, the factory's owner (the exceedingly touching Alwyn Kurts). "It's about dignity, about treating people with respect. People need to make things." The movie's message has timeless resonance, as job security and pride in manufacturing vanishes from large industrialized nations. --Laura Mirsky