4 stars for this powerhouse Australian drama.
Strangerland is written by Fiona Seres (Tangle) and Michael Kinirons and is the directorial feature debut of Kim Farrant.
“Touch in the dark, no-one can see. Touch in the dark, you touch me.”
Catherine (Nicole Kidman – Moulin Rouge, Eyes Wide Shut) and Matthew (Joseph Fiennes – Flashforward, Shakespeare in Love) Parker are a somewhat dysfunctional couple, living in the small and remote outback town of Nathgari.
Due to problems in their past, the family were forced to move and pharmacist Matthew is less than happy with the situation. Their two children Lily (Maddison Brown – Go Big) and Tom (Nicholas Hamilton – Captain Fantastic) are also not keen on their new home.
Lily spends her days hanging out with the boys at the skate park and Tom can’t sleep so he often spends the night walking around the neighbourhood.
Their lives are thrown into turmoil when one night Tom goes out walking and Lily goes with him. The next morning there is no sign of either of them and a massive dust storm is approaching the town.
After a desperate search through the storm, they are forced to go to the police and report them missing. Time is of the essence as the temperatures are so high that survival outdoors for any length of time would be practically impossible.
Rae (Hugo Weaving – The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Matrix) is the investigating officer. He does everything he can to help, organising search parties, but the locals are becoming suspicious of the family and dark little secrets begin to emerge as the investigations continue.
Strangerland is very atmospheric. The aftermath of the dust storm lends an eerie feel to the town and the sweeping shots of the outback certainly hammer home just how very lost it is possible to be out there.
The acting is superb throughout, as you would expect of such a distinguished cast and the story is good, although I did feel that the ending was a bit of a cop out.
All in all an enjoyable watch and well worth adding to your collection.
“Well, they’re not gonna find her here. They’ll find her shacked up with some guy again and she’ll probably have dragged Tom with her too.”
Strangerland is available to buy now on DVD and Digital HD and will be released on 04th July 2016
| Director | Kim Farrant |
| Genre | Drama, mystery, thriller |
| Starring | Nicole Kidman, Hugo Weaving, Joseph Fiennes, Maddison Brown, Nicholas Hamilton |
Available to buy on :  | |