BigSoulDiva Review of Strangerland

Strangerland (2015)

striking concept led astray by amateurish direction

[6/10 · 4 June 2015]

A psychological thriller set in the outback, Nicole Kidman in her native tongue, you don't say? Strangerland was a project to watch as soon as above and Joseph Fiennes came aboard under a first time female director. Sadly, Strangerland is a film that has a lot going for it, but the separate pieces never quite coalesce. The film kicks off in a sweaty dreamy fashion. the camera lingers over a quiet but simmering household. Husband and wife barely acknowledge one another, and poof the children are gone, and all hell breaks loose. This is a film about falling apart. Kidman and Fiennes give their all. Fiennes is an unpredictable rage machine, a product of repression. Kidman in absence of her little ones fights a soul breaking loneliness. she becomes ravenous for male attention, it's as if she has never in her life felt tenderness, and if she doesn't get some soon, she will die. Both actors are completely committed to their roles they keep you going even when the script and editing fail them. Kim Farrant wants to tell of story of family, but also crime procedural as well. Hugo Weaving is in the mix too; he is a cop. He has some history with every character in the story and seems to have the magic power of people melting down in front of him for no reason. He supposedly somehow connects to the family, but it is ultimately pointless, as no mysteries are ever solved by the end. The film just can't get enough of Kidman and Fiennes, they are sublime talents. If only Farrant had realized that they were all she needed.