The Bet (2006 film)

2006 Australian film

The Bet

Directed by| Mark Lee
Written by| Caroline Gerard
Starring| Aden Young
Matthew Newton
Cinematography| Hugh Miller
Edited by| Jason Ballantine
Music by| John Gray

Production
company

Gerrycan Productions[1]

Distributed by| Madman Entertainment

Release date

* 4 March 2006 (2006-03-04) (London Australian Film Festival)

Running time

| 1h 32m
Country| Australia
Language| English
Box office| A$25,032 (Australia)[2]

The Bet is a 2006 Australian film directed by Mark Lee.

## Plot

[edit]

The film is a story about a man named Will (Matthew Newton), a young stockbroker, who makes a bet with his wealthy friend Angus (Aden Young) to prove himself and to prove who can make the most money with 50 grand in 90 days for a prize of 200 grand. Their mutual friend Benno, Will's boss tells to invest in a pharmaceutical company. In desperation he agrees to bend for a bit for insider trading. His ego-fueled obsession on the betting game forces him to measure the cost of his ambition against the true value of love. Stock prices hit low and his clients are devastated. His father also invested money with Will and lost it. Will finds out through Benno (Tim Richards) that his girlfriend Tory (Sibylla Budd) is working with the pharmaceutical company, Will finds a note at Tory's office and finds out a way he can make back his lost money. Unfortunately, he doesn't find any investors. Will asks office assistant, Trish (Alyssa McClelland), whom he has jilted earlier to transfer funds from one of his clients illegally and he uses it to gain profit. Will puts back the money he transferred illegally but is arrested for fraud by officials. Tory who gets him out confronts his betting obsession, tells the pharmaceutical company he was betting against was Angus's family business and he controls it. Will makes the connection between Benno's advice and Angus' bet. Will confronts Angus and he says it's he who recommended Trish in their company through Benno, and Benno was bribed handsomely to reel in Will. This was because Tory was Angus' girlfriend first and he still pines over her. Angus is beaten up by Will but Angus manages to pins down Will and asserts he will charge case against Will using Trish as a witness for fraud, market manipulation, insider trading...etc. enough to put Will for a long jail-time which will make Tory forget him. Betrayed and humiliated Will commits suicide. After Will's funeral Trish tells Tory about Angus' role in Will's suicide.

The Bet is a morality tale, set in the city of Sydney, about choosing friends, boundaries and betrayals, relevance and consequences of proto-self, the perils of fallacy and the value of love and life.

## Cast

[edit]

* Matthew Newton as Will
* Sibylla Budd as Tory
* Aden Young as Angus
* Tim Richards as Benno
* Roy Billing as George
* Alyssa McClelland as Trish
* Peta Sergeant as Lila

## Production

[edit]

The Bet is set in western Sydney.[3]

The score was written by John Gray.[4]

## Release

[edit]

The film premiered on 4 March 2006 at the London Australian Film Festival and released in Australian cinemas September 2007.[3]

## Awards and nominations

[edit]

The Bet won the Jury Grand Prix, Best feature film, at the Antipodean Film Festival in Saint-Tropez, France, in 2008.[5]

Sibylla Budd was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in the 2007 Australian Film Institute Awards.[6]

John Gray won Best Original Song Composed for the Screen at the 2007 edition of the APRA/AGSC Australian Screen Music Awards.[4]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Madman Entertainment".
2. ^ "Australian Films at the Australian Box Office", Film Victoria accessed 11 November 2012
3. ^ a b Hall, Sandra (17 September 2007). "The Bet". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
4. ^ a b "About". stillpointmusic. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
5. ^ "All the Awards from Festival des Antipodes". Rencontres Internationales du Cinéma des Antipodes. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
6. ^ "Winners & Nominees". AACTA. Retrieved 28 February 2024.

## External links

[edit]

* The Bet at IMDb

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