User Reviews

A policeman, Aaron Falk, returns to his small home town for a funeral. Three people from the same family died in what appears to be a murder-suicide. Falk was best friends at school with Luke, the husband accused of the murders. The return, his first in over 20 years is not a happy one, bringing up memories of and anger from another death, one he was accused of.

Interesting Australian crime drama. Decent plot and reasonably engaging. The whodunnit side is not obvious, making for an intriguing journey.

Solid performance from Eric Bana in the lead role and decent supporting performances.

Not brilliant though: is a bit long-winded and the plot isn't entirely watertight. While reasonably intriguing, the tension is lacking, giving the feeling that things are happening in a vacuum. The drawn-out nature of proceedings doesn't help the momentum or tension.

Still very watchable though.

There is something uniquely Australian about this film. I think it's the overall country feel. A small country town, struggling with drought, small town syndrome and past mysteries that dog community members - especially one who has just returned after 20 years absence. A really good Australian ensemble hold together the intriguing storyline. And just when you decide it's bleeding obvious who the obsessive killer is and what links two crimes 20 years apart, they throw in some extra ingredients to throw the viewer off the scent. That's the part I actually quite enjoyed. I love this sort of movie that relies on great acting, a solid story and characters in an unforgiving outback setting. Really good work here.

Eric Bana plays a federal cop drawn back to his home town where he is persuaded to investigate the massacre of a family apparently by an old friend. His presence is largely unwelcome though as he is believed to be responsible for the death of a girl 20 years earlier.

Set in a tinder dry Australian township, this is an assured, solid mystery thriller which cleverly displays possible suspects so you never really sure what the answer is and where it lies as it twists and weaves as Bana finds new pieces of evidence. Bana is sharp and relatively reserved throughout with a good supporting cast rekindling old romances or wanting him gone for the crime he allegedly committed. It is all set in this dry world - you can almost feel the heat - reminiscent of the seventies Australian film renaissance films and particularly of course Picnic at Hanging Rock. I was particularly pleased as well that in the end the solutions to both crimes are laid properly bare, with the main crime featuring a particularly impressive piece of stunt / effects work to bring it to a satisfactory conclusion. Good film.

Good solid package. Acting, cinematography, story, balance, musical score... all come together seamlessly.

Only thing missing was a definitive ending. There is enough information to wrap things up 100%. But still, there was enough room for another scene or two just to round it off. If they spent 2 more minutes, I'd had rounded it off to an 8. Not enough credit given to Aussie movies these days. But not surprised really as the bulk are cheesy horrish crap.

This one is worth a watch.

I have to admit, it is very rare that i watch an Aussie movie and find it is a bad one and this is no exception to the rule!

This film literally drips with atmosphere and a pervading sense of sadness mixed with regret and soupçon of futility but with superb acting from all the cast weaving a rather languorous but stylish web of intrigue to hold the viewers gaze. Great photography and spellbinding music score that really conjures up the dry dustbowl that is the archetypal, central Australia backwater town, with its hidden dark secrets and creepy bill-hilly descendants of Botany Bay; so much so you can almost feel the oppressive heat and stifling atmosphere hemming you into your seat; just like PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK (1975) did all those year ago and with the same serious aplomb.

It is a basic whodunnit story and not for the crash, bang , wallop brigade but for those who like to sit back and be absorbed into the landscape and watch from a distance and it unfolds so methodically and with such a well paced, directed, photographed and acted ensemble that it is hard to stop watching. With a masterful performance and perfect casting of the always on form Eric Bana. I actually had a tear in my eye at the final denouement; always a great sign that a movie has done its job well. It made a superb nights viewing and a film I could watch again - for me that is another sign of a good movie!!!

Highly recommended, one of the best films this year and anyone who has read Jan Harper's book will be happy as it has not been hacked to death as usually happens in the Hollywood movie-zone!

The story is very engaging. Two mysterious murders to be solved, and both of them cause ripples in the entire small town. How the past and present intertwine is captivating.

Unfortunately, we make very few films here in Australia, and we rarely make great films, that's why when a fairly ok movie comes out, we all get excited. Our local movie critics are also incapable of judging local films without bias. They too, get overexcited and rave on about a film like "The Dry". This is not a boring film, or am awful experience, however, it's really not that great. Of course, we all get sentimental when we see the Australian landscape photographed in a movie, it's close to our hearts and we get touched by it. This film has all the ingredients to potentially have been a great film, but that opportunity was missed. The story has many holes, the constant flashbacks get confusing, the performances are not that great, Eric Bana has no chemistry with anyone on the screen, the soundtrack is nonstop and aimless, and annoying. The dialogue is also poorly done. Very basic screenwriting, nothing sophisticated, very much on-the-nose. I understand the desire to portray the simplicity of the characters being a country/rural setting, however, films like Coen Brothers' "Fargo" achieve this without compromising the integrity of the dialogue. This definitely didn't live up to the hype. Watch it of course to support our home-grown. film industry, but we really need to up our game.

Taps into something elemental about growing up around the Australian bush. Well-paced direction from the steady hand of Robert Connelly. Bana underplays his character to let the story do the talking. No slouches whatsoever in the plentiful supporting cast either. Matthew Nable & Genevieve O'Rielly on top of their game. Haven't seen John Polson act since Mission Impossible 2. He seems to relish the craft. A layered whodunnit with a harsh drought as a backdrop. Flashbacks of youth, a rekindled romance of sorts, and interesting townsfolk provide temporary respite from the surreal bleakness. Do yourselves a favour.

Federal police Aaron Falk (Eric Bana) returns to his hometown after being chased out twenty years earlier. The town is a bitter farming community after a year with no rain. His former best friend Luke Hadler and his family have been massacre. The case remains unsolved. Some in town blame him and Luke for another unsolved murder of Ellie Deacon back when they were teenage friends. In flashbacks, the teens hang out by the water hole. The town is a place of secrets and lies as Aaron tries to solve both cases.

This has good atmosphere. The bitter taste of the outback dirt is palpable. It may be better to show most of the flashbacks earlier in the first half. The false alibi story needs to be shown at the start of the second act. There is potential for more red herrings in that case. I can certainly see him going down some investigative dead-ends. This is a very good Australian murder mystery although the first half is a little muddled. Pushing the flashbacks forward would help a lot.

This completely exceeded my expectations and has to be Erica Bana's best performance in years.

It's definitely a slow-burner but I was engaged from the start. Everything feels very well-developed - the small town, the unique characters, the mysteries and the backdrop of drought.

If you enjoy small towns filled with mysteries, secrets and lies, then you will enjoy this. The Dry has a very authentic atmosphere and captures rural Australia well. Its use of flashbacks was never jarring and the past and present complemented eachother effectively.

The intertwined stories worked fantastically, with the result being a very powerful film and ending. Not a film I'll forget in a hurry.

Eric Bana commands the screen, ably supported by Genevieve O'Reilly but the direction just lacked spark. This was a film that begged to be evocative, yet it just plodded through, getting the job done with no standout atmosphere. Robert Connelly is a journeyman director. Solid but unremarkable. If it were not for Bana, this film would have passed by unnoticed. By comparison Iven Sen creates slow burn, outback, damaged detective films that burst with atmosphere and leave you with red dust up your nose.

Seriously guys I am a sucker for murder mysteries. No matter how bad the script is and even if it's predictable which in this movie I had no idea and couldn't see it coming at all. It's the way the direction and cinematography is done plus suspenseful music all goes well hand in hand to tell a beautiful story. The acting is fantastic from everyone especially Eric BANA. Maybe a bit long but kept me engaging the entire time. Great movie 👌👍

A slow paced drama, becomes more interesting towards the end as the mystery unfolds.

I watched this movie with great anticipation. I had read the book which did a great job painting a distressed town in the grip of a devastating drought. In the book one could feel the heat and hear the desiccated undergrowth crackle. Emotional conflicts were also handled nicely. The writing and the way the book paints the landscape and the people masks the weakness in the plot and the poorly developed unveiling of the perpetrator Sadly the movie fails to show any emotional depth in any characters. The town is greener and far less bleak than shown in the book. To make matters worse the way the crime is solved is even more abbreviated than in the book. As a consequence it fails as both an Australian outback movies as well as a crime movie. My adult son who had not read the book described it as boring.

Detective Aaron Falk returns home to his small town during a drought spell, his presence reopens an old wound, the death of a teenage girl years before.

It's a very good movie, if you're a fan of the mystery genre, this should appeal to you. Pacing may be an issue for some, as it is a little slow in parts, but it's definitely a satisfying watch.

You are presented with bits of the puzzle, but you get to see it through the eyes of Falk, from youth to adulthood, he's tough, he's smart, he's relentless, the outcome isn't one I expected.

Don't expect any laughs or humour, it's a straight up mystery, The Dry not only the title of the film, but the tone too. You can almost feel the heat and humidity, everyone looks half cooked in almost every scene.

The casting was very good, the casting of the younger selves was excellent, Eric Bana is very good, well supported by Genevieve O'Reilly and Keir O'Donnell.

7/10.

I hooked right into this one, the acting was great and the story slowly drip fed to an audience yearning to find out just what did happen.

As an Australian movie it hits the sweet spot, honestly Aussie without hammering the cliches.

Grab a beer and enjoy :)

Greetings again from the darkness. Remember when an exonerated OJ Simpson vowed to dedicate his time to finding "the real killer" of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman? For some reason that memory came back in the early stages of this film as a Melbourne-based Australian Federal Police agent returns to his isolated hometown after his childhood friend is implicated in a murder-suicide. See, that agent left town as a teenager when he was suspected of being involved in the murder of a local teenage girl.

Eric Bana (MUNICH, 2005) stars as that AFP agent Aaron Falk. He's been gone for 20 years, but agrees to return for the funeral of his friend Luke (Martin Dingall Wall) at the request of Luke's parents (Bruce Spence, Julia Blake). The parents don't believe Luke would have killed his wife and one of his two kids and then committed suicide, and they want Luke to investigate. Of course, the rest of the town believes Luke did it, and most are none too happy that Aaron has returned, as they haven't forgotten the suspicion tied to him for the tragedy that took the life of his friend Ellie (BeBe Bettencourt) so many years ago.

The stark contrast of glass and steel Melbourne towers and the drought-stricken cracked soil of (fictional) Kiewarra are as distinct as the comparison of today's Kiewarra with Aaron's flashbacks to those carefree days of swimming in the river with Ellie, Luke and their friend Gretchen - who is now a single mom played by Genevieve O'Reilly, and one of the few to welcome Aaron back. The film is based on the 2016 international best-selling novel by Jane Harper, and there is a lot to keep up with, despite a pace that never feels rushed. The two cases may be separated by twenty years, but they seem connected, even though we aren't sure how murder and suicide and a slew of suspects all fit together. Aaron works with local police officer Greg Raco (an excellent Keir O'Donnell) in an attempt to make sense of what's happened.

There are angry and suspicious people throughout the town. William Zappa plays Mal, Ellie's grudge-bearing father, while Matt Nable plays her obnoxious and quick-to-accuse cousin Grant. James Frecheville (ANIMAL KINGDOM, 2010) is local farmer with a motive Jamie Sullivan, while John Polson plays school Principal Scott Whitlam who isn't quite as put together as he'd like everyone to believe. Farmer Sullivan remarks (with the film's best line), "You think you're gonna get the truth in a town like this?" And by that time, we know exactly what he means.

The flashbacks to Aaron's teenage years provide much of the context to the story and his character, and they are handled beautifully. It's a small town whose residents hold an abundance of secrets, rumors, and grudges, creating a web of misinformation that challenges Aaron and Officer Raco. The two cases (past and present) collide, and cinematographer Stefan Duscio does terrific work with the vast, dusty landscape, as well as the many interior shots where the characters reveal their true selves. Writer-director Robert Connolly (a heavy TV workload recently) co-wrote the script with Harry Cripps and Samantha Strauss, and they have created a suspenseful and entertaining whodunit. With the heavy dose of crime shows on TV these days, it's a pleasure to see a well done film with high production value and a cohesive story. Just remember to use an alibi other than "shooting rabbits", if you are ever working on a cover story.

Opening in theaters and on VOD on May 21, 2021.

I do not know the book this is based on - so I can't compare how faithful it is to the book. It does seem to take certain characters and manages to put them in the film though - I can imagine that the hotel owner is in the book too ... and what a fine casting they did on him - and all the other people too of course. Eric Banas father in this ... I could see him as his real father (judging from the last names it does not seem to be the case though).

So great actors and a really good story to say the least. It may start off quite dry ... and it does take its sweet time. But it uses the time to introduce us to the people involved and makes us second guess every move, every word and everyone we see ... is there more to him or her? Very likely ... a town/village full of lies ... lies to protect oneself or a loved one ... secrets that haunt almost everyone. Secrets that seem laughable, but could hurt someones reputation ... and other sins (not just from the father(s)) ... a really well done, dry movie, with a powerhouse performance by Eric Bana, but also anyone else that is on screen at any given time!

Eric Bana is perfectly cast and carries this movie so well. The story is emotional but grounded. So often movie adaptions from best selling books are butchered by directors who feel that they need to make changes to make it their own. Not this time. The director was excellent and the cast was awesome. Did not take my eyes of the screen the entire time. Well done, proud to be an Aussie. Bana will win AFI. Jan Harper should be proud.

I saw this without watching the trailer or reading anything bah it.

Eric Bana and a mystery movie set in the dry Australian outbacks were suffice to pull me in.

The film moves at a slow pace but it never gets boring.

Picnic at Hanging Rock, Flashbacks of a Fool, Chinatown, etc came to my mind while viewing this.

I am confused, is this movie set in the present day or is it 10 years ago?

The birth certificate said 1973 meaning ellie died in 1990 at 17

but the cop said she was killed 20 years ago, it makes no sense

is eric bana meant to be playing a 37 year old????

A bit slow at times but a good portrait of a down at heals country town with a less than wholesome attitude to 'well' everything. Bana carries the film but it does a good job and has some twists in it. It ends on a grim note but is ell worth the watch, not too much wokeness about it although this has become the norm for just about all entertainment today.