Rated: MA15+
Directed by: Robert Connolly
Produced by: Bruna Papandrea, Jodi Matterson and Steve Hutensky, Robert Connolly, Eric Bana
Screenplay Written by: Harry Cripps and Robert Connolly
Based on the Book Written by: Jane Harper
Starring: Eric Bana, Genevieve O’Reilly, Keir O’Donnell, John Polson, Julia Blake, Bruce Spence, Matt Nable, William Zappa, James Frecheville, Joe Klocek, Claude Scott-Mitchell, Sam Corlett, BeBe Bettencourt, Miranda Tapsell.
The tone of, The Dry is set in the opening moments: from above, the landscape looks barren, drawing the eye like water into drought-stricken dirt.
A baby cries.
The floorboards of a farmhouse are soaked in blood.
On the back of a note to attend the funeral of a childhood friend, Federal Agent Aaron Falk (Eric Bana) reads, You lied.
The Dry is a mystery of two crimes separated by twenty years that slowly unfolds in the town of Kiewarra. A town where a spark could start a blaze, a town suffering 324 days without rain.
It’s a country town that holds secrets revealed in the subtleties as Aaron gets caught up investigating a suicide murder case while his own past catches up, locals banging on his door in the middle of the night.
What happened all those years ago? Why do the locals hate Aaron returning to his childhood home?
What happened to Ellie Deacon (BeBe Bettencourt)?
It’s a slow and quiet mystery that was gripping because of the many moments that ground the story, the local school principle planting a tree in memory of the dead, a kind gesture but bitter sweet: ‘God knows what I’m supposed to tell the kids when it dies,’ he says, knowing the tree will die like so many others in the never ending drought.
And there are so many layers to this story, handled with care by director Robert Connolly – all those subtle moments hinting at character, questioning the action of something as simple as closing a glass sliding door.
There’s some light moments to offset the foreboding drive of drama, from classic characters like the memorable publican, McMurdo (Eddie Baroo) – the pub overrun with customers (said with tongue-in-cheek) or the order of the sea food basket a risky choice being oh so far from the ocean.
Alongside a solid storyline, it’s those moments that nod to the Australian countryside that ground the film in the authentic and is such a pleasure to watch on the big screen.
The landscape reminded me of childhood growing up in country Victoria, those century old gum trees, finding that special spot, that magic tree while watching the dust form whirlwinds across the paddock.
The backbone of the film is Aaron returning home, the flashbacks to those days of growing up and swimming in the river with friends. Director Robert Connolly explains, “If I was […] to go right to the crux of THE DRY, it’s about the emotional impact of returning to the place you grew up.”
The landscape is captured beautifully here (filmed in the Wimmera Region), the past when the river was flowing. The tragedy of a young death. The return to childhood memories to now see the town dry, the once flowing river empty.
What sums up the film for me is the use of the soundtrack – there to amplify those dramatic moments, but noticed even more when absent, with only the sound of the wind.
Overall, I found, The Dry to be a quiet film, mysterious with a subtle slow burn, that’s gripping in the telling.