Worth: $17.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Joel Edgerton, Sean Harris, Jada Alberts, Steve Mouzakis, Ewen Leslie
Intro:
... a standout, a high-octane look into the pursuit of a criminal – a compelling and measured film that delivers ...
Thomas M. Wright’s The Stranger is a bleak and unsettling film about an undercover police officer as he puts everything at risk; his family, his safety, his home life, to get close to a criminal who may or may not be what he seems.
It is also a film about the toll such a case takes on those involved: the innocent, law enforcement officers, their families.
Set largely in 2010, The Stranger, Wright’s follow-up to his terrific debut Acute Misfortune, is based on Kate Kyriacou’s The Sting and is a fictionalisation of the extensive undercover operation which took place as part of police efforts to solve the Daniel Morcombe case.
It follows Mark (played by Joel Edgerton, who also produces), an officer tasked with investigating and penetrating the world of felon Henry Teague (Sean Harris, The Green Knight).
Posing as a crook, Mark (whose real name is never revealed), recruits and befriends the man, still reeling from his past.
The closer Mark gets to Henry, and the more they trust each other, the more he realises what a dangerous situation he is in – as he begins to understand who this man he has come to know is.
As the film unfolds, Wright proceeds to carefully hone in on each of the men, who are ensnared in this mutually beneficial relationship.
Like his acclaimed first film, Wright presents a look into two men of very different backgrounds, who come together to form an unlikely, uneasy friendship – with far grimmer consequences.
Like Acute Misfortune, the story takes a path that most Australian films – or crime films – don’t.
The Stranger is as much about the criminal at its centre, and the cop who gets pulled into his world, as it is the perpetrator’s actions – and the implications of these actions for the many who are affected by them.
Wright chooses not to lean into the violence, instead focusing on the repercussions, showing an uncommon restraint.
This is aided by stellar performances from both Edgerton and Harris. Edgerton in particular commands the film as Mark.
The film is peppered with tension throughout, such as a moment where Mark, having become acquainted with his new hire, confronts the man about his past.
There’s a sense of unease that pervades, aided by the terrific sound design, and the swooping photography of cinematographer Sam Chiplin.
The film, which premiered at Cannes earlier this year, will undoubtedly have a strong impact on audiences.
The Stranger is a standout, a high-octane look into the pursuit of a criminal – a compelling and measured film that delivers – and stands apart from Australian and international crime genre predecessors.
