- Film Review
- Reviewed By John Ferguson
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3 out of 5
The best Australian film-makers have always managed to capture the eerie, forbidding nature of their homeland's glorious landscapes. In his impressive directorial debut, Daniel Nettheim expertly channels that unease into a beguiling thriller set against the spectacular backdrops of Tasmania. Willem Dafoe (at his understated best) plays a mercenary hired by a shady biotech company to find the supposedly extinct Tasmanian tiger. Posing as an academic, Dafoe lodges with Frances O'Connor and her two children - she is still traumatised by the disappearance of her husband in the wilderness months earlier. Dafoe's assignment is further complicated by the suspicions of local guide Sam Neill and an ongoing feud between local loggers and environmentalists. Nettheim doesn't quite tie all the loose plot strands together, but his brooding visuals invoke a genuine sense of dread and foreboding.
Plot Summary
A mercenary is hired by a mysterious company to investigate sightings of the supposedly extinct Tasmanian tiger, and kill one of the animals so tissue and organ samples can be taken. The normally solitary hunter forms an attachment to the family that takes him in, which poses unforeseen dangers. Drama, starring Willem Dafoe, Frances O'Connor and Sam Neill.
Cast and crew
Cast
- Martin David
- Willem Dafoe
- Jack Mindy
- Sam Neill
- Lucy Armstrong
- Frances O'Connor
- Sass Armstrong
- Morgana Davies
- Bike Armstrong
- Finn Woodlock
- Middleman
- Jacek Koman
- Pool player
- Dan Wyllie
- Doug
- Sullivan Stapleton
- Rival hunter
- Callan Mulvey
Crew
- Director
- Daniel Nettheim
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