Strangerland

Seen at Roxy Cinema in Nowra, NSW

Bea says:  I was keen to see this little known (to me anyway) Australian film starring Nicole Kidman and Hugo Weaving.  The action takes place in small outback town in what is presumably western NSW, and centres on a family who have recently moved there, as the husband/father has just taken up a position as a pharmacist.  The family have recently arrived, a heatwave is underway, and before long the reasons behind the move and the cracks in family relationships become apparent.  Both teenage children go missing, and a dust storm rolls in.  A search takes place and yet more mystery is revealed, both in family relationships and in the local indigenous mythology.

Kidman plays her role as somewhat purposeless and slightly driven mad mother and wife well, and there are also good performances from Hugo Weaving as the very convincing town sheriff.  Kidman's character is the centre of the film, in a fruitless search for her lost youth (perhaps symbolising her search for her daughter), although some of the subplots and storylines would have benefited from fuller exploration rather than hints.

Ultimately the film leaves the plot partially unresolved, but the complex relationships are interesting to watch and it is nicely shot so quite a feast for the eyes - the dust storm itself particularly.

Worth a watch.
***

Cecil says: Actually, Bea has said all it's possible to say without spoiling the plot.

As a non-Aussie, I was struck by how well the film portrayed the feel of small town outback Australia, though I have only ever really experienced it from the safety of the long-distance bus, with my nearest contact being those roadside stop-offs you get in the middle of nowhere.

Kidman is fantastic in this role; she really is the incarnation of woman settler in Australia (coming after her role in the wonderful Australia five years ago). Who else can possibly play these sorts of roles? And how long can she go on playing them herself?

Her character is slightly disturbing, as in fact are all the characters portrayed, in particular within the family who take centre stage. Hugo Weaving's sheriff is probably the most likeable of the characters.

I've never actually been in a sandstorm like that, and am thankful having seen how it was portrayed in the film. But I can really imagine the Wild West feel that followed in this small country town, with teenagers on the rampage making it very unsettling for an urban-type like the family in this piece.

The uncertainty over the ending leaves you, well, uncertain, but I guess that is the point the director was trying to get across. In families such as this, are things ever fully resolved? Do they need to be?

***.5