Strangerland (2015) Reviews

• rare hint of female teenage sociopathy

  tinarbiner2016-02-23

  I almost never review movies and I often like a tidy ending, but what intrigued me about this movie is that after scouring reviews, there were none I could find that touched on what I felt stood about about this storyline. Even a director-interview touched only on how different characters dealt with grief in the movie. Sure there was a lot of grief going around, but much more interesting was the element of a teenage female sociopath. The character of Lily went beyond simple promiscuity. She upended her former teacher's life. Was not only adept at seducing men at an early age, but also chronicled her conquests in her diary in an explicit way that clearly points to sociopathy. Parallels are drawn between her mother's need for sexual attention and manipulation with her own. The fact that she didn't take care of her brother and may have willingly abandoned him suggests something even more sinister. Particularly the haunting refrain of being touched in the dark. She gives us no reason to believe that she looks out for her younger brother, given that she will disappear into the box with him standing by helplessly. It is part of her power over him that she can do this without fear of reprisal from him. Ask how she manages to pull all this over on him and her parents? I came to the conclusion that she had abused her younger brother in some way, exerting her control over him in the darkness 'when no one can see.' Getting him to 'touch her' and do her bidding. Why else would a healthy boy not be able to sleep and instead wander aimlessly in the night? Why does she go after him, and why does she as the older, responsible one let it go so far as to allow him to almost meet his demise? Her father sensed it intuitively, which was why he feared for her early on and either reacted violently to protect her, or felt she deserved to be punished. Only a pretty screwed up girl would act out so extremely at such a young age. The father also recognized narcissistic tendencies in his wife. Perhaps the mother had a male relative who abused her in the past and there could have been a continuation of that with Lily as a child that was not overtly suggested. The mother's downward spiral toward the end also reinforced that notion as her daughter's disappearance reignited buried psychological trauma that plays out in a psychotic break for her which is witnessed by the townspeople. I felt the movie overall was well-acted by all involved and well-directed. Kudos to the independent film!

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• Atmospheric and intriguing, if not especially moving or satisfying...

  moonspinner552015-10-15

  Trouble is stirred up in a stifling hot Australian desert town after the two children of new arrivals Nicole Kidman and Joseph Fiennes go missing...and everyone who came into contact with them becomes a suspect in their disappearance. Well-acted study of stunted small town lives, with Nicole Kidman particularly gripping as the sad, desperate mother of the kids (a promiscuous teenage girl and her restless younger brother). Some of the drama has a prickly edge, and the dialogue is strong, however the supporting characters are not a terribly interesting lot, while the simmering tempers in this dust bowl town are not used to heighten the tension (director Kim Farrant treats it as subtext, preferring to focus on the embattled married couple). Repetitive aerial shots of the mountain terrain and surrounding desert grow tiresome (arty yet unrevealing), but the complicated scenario is enough of a draw for admirers of character studies. ** from ****

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• A Waste of Time

  kathybolesyppn2016-01-05

  I like Nicole Kidman which is one reason I watched this movie but all I could say after watching it was that it was a waste of my time. It was touted as a feminist movie but I can't see anything feminist about it. The female leads were portrayed as nymphomaniacs and Nicole's character's motivations and actions in trying to have sex with random men were nonsensical. The character was portrayed as becoming more and more deranged. I couldn't see why they didn't search all the buildings or anywhere in the town the children may have been hidden before they started looking in the desert. The husband's excuse for not following his children was lame. Other actions just also didn't make sense. When we didn't even get an answer as to what had happened to Lili I was even sorrier that I hadn't abandoned this movie early on.

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• Psychological drama that leaves you hanging

  MdlndeHond2015-07-11

  After their free spirited, too mature for her age and nubile daughter Lily (a walking Lolita cliché) takes off with her brother into the desert the already unstable marriage falls prey to resurfacing old resentment. Nobody in the small sleepy outback town knows where she has disappeared off too yet many seem to have had some involvement. As the movie progresses we see the mother (Kidman) fall further in desperation induced mental frailty while dad (Fiennes) holds her responsible for their daughters 'adventurous nature' so to speak. Although it starts off well with what seems to be a wholesome plot, either a mystery or a psychological thriller, it lingers and resumes in exploring the relationship between mainly the parents and the towns people. Some over-dramatization doesn't do the plot any good and by the end it leaves you hanging. It lacks a firm direction and goes on tangents instead, many scenic shots, dramatic outburst and at last an unsatisfactory ending. It is the indecisiveness that irritates. When presenting a strong leading plot line it needs to be followed through, at least partly. Fiennes and Kidmans' performances are impeccable despite the failing script.

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• All got lost in the sand storm

  dracher2015-07-28

  I can't believe that it wasn't obvious at the first reading that the script was letting it down. Basic idiosyncratic transitions and poor dialogue abounds. Hugo Weaving (something of a fixture in Australian films) manages to make the best of his scenes, and gives a good credible performance throughout. Nicol Kidman works wonders to give the other credible performance. Mr Fiennes is miscast and struggles from his first frame to his last, to even convince us that he belongs there at all. The rest of the great problem with this film is down to the appalling direction. Basic character relationships are ignored, logic is ignored, some the smaller roles seem to have been left to tag along by themselves, dramatic tension is frequently killed in its infancy by casual happenstance, and there are too many red rock dessert shots, that look for all the world, like stock footage. It no doubt made great headway as it stood the test of the template during the funding process, as it was labeled a feminist story (it even failed at that) it was to be directed by a woman, it was to be set within a sand storm in country Australiana, and it even featured a smattering of indigenous characters and folk law. It's a shame that the piece could not have been saved by skillful work shopping during the early stages of production, and good film making throughout.

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