Actor, screenwriter and director Thomas M. Wright directs The stranger, one of the best films we could see at this Sitges Festival. A tense and dark game that adapts Kate Kyriacou’s book, The Sting: The undercover operation that captured Daniel Morcombe’s killer. It tells the investigation into the disappearance and murder of the young Daniel Marcombe, an event that shook all of Australia.
Marcombe was 13 when he disappeared at a bus stop in Queensland. It was one of the most investigated crimes in the history of that municipality.
After 8 years of investigation, the culprit was caught. Australian child murderer and rapist Brett Peter Cowan.
The stranger tells how that investigation went. She does it from the point of view of Mark, one of the undercover police officers.
The film is the protagonist two acting monsters how Joel Edgerton putting a face to the police e Sean Harris as an alleged criminal.
The stranger, an investigation and two actors in a state of grace: Joel Edgerton and Sean Harris
Joel Edgerton, also producer of the film, got us used to incredible characters like those played in cult films like The kingdom of animals, The present (which he also directs), Loving or Warrior and Sean Harris is one of those chameleons capable of playing every role superbly, sometimes even It is difficult to recognize it depending on which production.
One of Harris’ best performances was in the Sean Durkin miniseries, Southcliffe, an authentic and brutal work of art. He is one of those actors who stands out in every work of him, but most of all I remember his character 71 ‘, Macbeth, Creep or inside The Green Knighta film in which we can also see Joel Edgerton.
Both actors are amazing in their characters. That game of the dark reverse, of double that the film transmits to us, it works perfectly.
Henry, the character of Sean Harris, is as complex as the script and the structure of the film itself. The dance scene, her breathing problems, her voice, or seeing, thanks to her spectacular body work, how she goes from shyness and absolute caution, to confidence and relaxation, is spectacular.
Secondly, Edgerton’s Mark is a cop who may remind us of the one played by Johnny Depp in Donnie Brasco. If Depp has already done well in that film as an undercover cop, Joel Edgerton uses an even more affiliated scalpel to dissect his character. His work is more precise and realistic than Depp’s or even Pacino’s serpico.
When they both share a screen, in the car or in a room, their gazes and the the way they react to each other is pure magic. The relationship in which Edgerton and Harris share The stranger it is fascinating, human and at the same time terrifying.
The strangerAnd true crime move away from the victim
Thomas M. Wright’s film is special for many reasons, but what strikes me most is the fact that at no time do we know or show any images of the victim. Something strange in this type of production.
The focus is on the criminal and the investigating police officers. Total respect for the victim’s family. Also, makes something even more interesting, Edgerton’s character Mark has a son, played by the director’s own son, a fact that, according to him, has drawn him into the story in a more personal way.
It is through Mark and his son that we are afraid of what might happen to the boy, as if somehow, that child will represent the victim of the film.
Something that could really happen, since his script is a machine that never stops creating tension. It seems that anything can happen at any time. The tension does not stop feeding until the end The stranger.
Wright directs the film with the Australian toughness of directors like John Hillcoat, Jane Campion or Andrew Dominik, but gives it more darkness. The stranger it’s dark inside and out. Her characters are as dark as the story or the great photography of Sam Chiplin.
We can’t forget his music, the soundtrack of The stranger is composed by Matthias Schack-Arnott and Oliver Coates. The work they make is essential to make us abstract from everything and accompany Mark and Henry throughout the film. His music is strange and disturbing, as if it came out of a nightmare or those moments that function as a prelude to your worst thoughts.
The stranger: one of Netlfix’s hidden gems
The film premiered yesterday on Netflix without fanfare. Without appearing in the news or on the home page. Sara one of those works that will be recommended word by ear. Slowly. That is not for us.
The stranger It is not a film for everyone. There are no jokes. There is no light. It is raw, real and violent. Not because it’s loaded with bloody scenes, but because of that violence that grabs you, makes your skin crawl and your back muscles contract. The one that whitens your knuckles.
The stranger It’s a movie where everything works. Its entire cast is particularly good and all its departments tell the same story.. It can be said that it was a very special job for everyone. That his manager managed to convince the team to take the job personally as his own.
The stranger it’s cinema. It’s true. It is a story that must be told.
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