Directed by Thomas M. Wright
Starring Joel Edgerton and Sean Harris

Who knew Australians were so good at the ol’ ‘based on a true story’ trope? The Stranger, coming hot off the heels of the similarly semi-factful Bosch & Rockit, finds itself subverting the cold-case formula for a fresh approach in this gripping whodunnit.

Details of alleged histories and long-gone sins are scattered throughout the film, from protagonist Mark’s seldom seen divorcee or the more basic literal getaway that antagonist (?) Henry undertakes in the beginning of the film, although perhaps taking a bus from the Northern Territory to Western Australia is a relatively tame escape. What is Henry running from? We will not find out for a very long time based on the pace Thomas M. Wright chose to tackle this, which is absolutely fine by me because the devil lives in the details.

From the metaphorical suicide of an asthmatic smoker to the mental agony of the undiagnosed nothing is certain in an atmosphere that reminded me of those old triple-agent spy movies. What brought me sweet tender comfort through all this uncertainty were the motifs scattered across the dry countryside these criminals inhabit. Visual flairs, oft-repeated phrases, and suspicious insecurities will pique the curiosities of any viewer trying to avoid speed-reading the Wikipedia page to finally end the thrilling suspension.

Technical decisions in the filmmaking allow for full immersion, with Wright choosing to bake immersion into every inch of the runtime. Audiences remain on a cliff’s edge with touches like the audio phasing between a real boom stick on set and the fictional recording device in the film itself. These liquid audio transitions only distracted me twice, firstly when I marvelled at their seamlessness and then a second time when I realised, I hadn’t even noticed an entire scene up until a point was recorded on this in-movie device.

Now that we’ve established that Australia recounts a good tale of criminality, maybe we should stop doing these crimes that inspire these movies…

The Stranger is showing in selected cinemas across Australia from October 6th and Netflix from October 19th.

Moviedoc thanks Transmission and TM Publicity for the invite to the screening of this film.

Reviewed by Zak Wheeler for Moviedoc

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