The Dry

The movie The Dry is based on the novel of the same name by Jane Harper and, since I loved her latest release The Survivors, I decided to see it last night.  Harper is known for moody and atmospheric murder mysteries in small towns with secrets and this movie definitely delivers on that vibe.  Aaron Falk (Eric Bana) returns home to Kiewarra, a small farming community in Australia suffering from a severe drought, after a twenty year absence to attend the funeral of his childhood best friend Luke Hadler (Martin Dingle-Wall).  Hadler is accused of killing his wife and young son before taking his own life but his parents refuse to believe he is guilty and ask Falk, who is a federal police officer in Melbourne, to investigate.  He teams up with the local police sergeant Greg Raco (Keir O'Donnell), a rookie who is still traumatized after finding the bodies, to review all of the evidence.  However, Falk's return stirs up memories of another mysterious death that happened twenty years ago of which he and Hadler were the prime suspects.  Tensions are high as Falk tries to solve the present crime because it seems that everyone involved has a secret.  Interspersed between Falk's activities in the present are flashbacks to the earlier incident involving the young Falk (Joe Klocek), the young Hadler (Sam Corlett), Gretchen Schoner (Claude Scott-Mitchell), and Ellie Deacon (BeBe Bettencourt), the young woman who drowned, and it seems that even Falk has his secrets as the details of both cases are slowly revealed.  It is definitely a slow burn (pun intended) but I found it very suspenseful.  I loved the juxtaposition of all of the wide shots of the parched ground with vegetation ready to go up in flames with the close-up shots of the suspects who also seem ready to combust from the tension.  Bana gives an incredibly nuanced and restrained performance as a man haunted by his past and the rest of the cast is also excellent, especially Genevieve O'Reilly as Gretchen in the present-day and William Zappa as Ellie's father.  This movie is a bit under the radar because of the big blockbusters scheduled for release this weekend but it is absolutely worth seeking out.