Ned Kelly without a Beard

Unmasking and Truth-Telling in Justin Kurzel’s True History of the Kelly Gang

Abstract

Before Justin Kurzel’s 2019 adaptation of Peter Carey’s 2001 Booker Prize winning The True History of the Kelly Gang came out, almost a dozen films had already been made about the outlaw Ned Kelly. Raising money for a new film seemed like an impossible task. What untold aspects are there of this story? Kurzel, as Carey, was not interested in telling how it really was. Rather he became interested in how history can be "stolen" and turned into political agenda. The oft-told story of the Kelly Gang continues to define the way Australians think about themselves and their national identity. Kurzel’s disturbing take on Carey’s book is not likely to turn out to be a crowd pleasing, popular film. This paper aims to examine how the film deliberately breaks with the received notions of Kelly representations. A beardless Ned Kelly succeeds in alienating rather than identifying the viewer with the main character, thus highlighting the artificial character of the Ned Kelly myth.