Tonight's movie. Been waiting for a chance to watch this 2020 Australian thriller, and it was certainly worth it. It's a slow-burn, but it absolutely succeeds in seducing you into its story, its characters, and its mystery. Eric Bana is probably the best he has been since he played Chopper, cast here as a big city cop who returns to his home country town, now parched by drought, to investigate the apparent murder/suicide involving his childhood friend. At the same time, he needs to confront a secret of his own, which has been tormenting him for decades. I haven't read Jane Harper's 2016 book that the film is adapted from, and I think that certainly helped the impact it had on me. The less you know about the plot going in, the better. Having now seen the movie, I am intrigued enough to seek out the novel. The locations are as much a central character in the film as anything else, Stefan Duscio's camera capturing just the right angles and glints of sunlight reflecting off tin to make the harsh, bone dry environment (it was filmed in rural Melbourne, around the Horsham area).
