‘The Stranger’ a disarming Aussie procedural
Crime stories that aim to disturb often rely on grim violence, with the tension arising from when and how that violence will inevitably bubble to the forefront. “The Stranger,” an Australian production that debuted at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and now streaming on Netflix, builds dread to near-unbearable levels without a single bullet or drop of blood.
Based on a real-life crime and subsequent investigation, “The Stranger” introduces the seemingly unassuming Henry (Sean Harris, the memorable villain of a couple “Mission: Impossible” flicks) as he begins an initiation-of-sorts with a crime syndicate. Mark, played by Joel Edgerton, serves as his guide to the crew as Henry faces numerous questions about his past before being given any lucrative opportunities. The organization values honesty over everything else, even offering to settle lingering suspicions and legal issues in Henry’s past before moving forward. Sounds like a compassionate mob family, right?
Well, “The Stranger,” directed by Thomas M. Wright, reveals its true intentions before the second act. Mark is an undercover police officer, and the entire crime syndicate is a setup for Henry to confess to a grisly crime that occurred nearly a decade earlier. To influence Henry into leading authorities to a so-far-undiscovered crime scene, Mark must find a way to befriend and connect with someone who has proven capable of incomprehensible evil.
In the absence of car chases and gun showdowns, Wright makes several purposefully disorienting choices with “The Stranger.” First, an entire subplot taking place years before the main storyline intercuts the main action. It focuses on two detectives piecing together Henry’s apparent crime. The other, more unnerving subplot focuses on Mark’s growing discomfort with his role in the sting operation. Nightmares of Henry plague his off-duty hours, creeping into his relationship with his son, who appears to be the same age as the victim in Henry’s original crime.
Wright also frequently cuts scenes abruptly with jolting instrumentals and sometimes-baffling imagery. You’re meant to feel the strain of Henry’s darkness as Mark does, even though Henry often projects himself as a fairly “normal” guy.
The two central performances here make the movie compelling from start to finish. Both boasting large, scraggly beards, Harris and Edgerton’s interplay work to underline the film’s unsettling central question: How do you become close to a monster without connecting with them on some level?
“The Stranger,” despite its forgettable title, is worth elevating above the onslaught of other content on Netflix’s streaming platform.
Celebrate Halloween, and the year of Colin Farrell with his “Fright Night” remake
While Inland Northwest residents must wait a bit longer to see what has been hyped as Colin Farrell’s best performance in Martin McDonaugh’s “The Banshees of Inisherin,” you can go back and reassess one of the actor’s more underrated roles — that of steely-vampire-next-door Jerry in 2011’s remake of “Fright Night.”
Released at the height of “Twilight” popularity, “Fright Night” set fire to the swoony-sparkly image of Edward Cullen to Make Vampires Menacing Again. With a strong ensemble led by the late Anton Yelchin as a former-nerd-turned-wannabe-cool-kid-high-school-senior who notices the bloodlust of his swoony neighbor, “Fright Night” wastes little time in bringing mayhem to suburbia. Farrell, who, let’s face it, is uniformly good in even the lousiest of projects, delivers a villainous snarl that matches his memorable turn earlier this year in “The Batman.”
“Fright Night” is a ridiculous movie starring an overqualified and energetic cast, which makes it a prime Halloween-night viewing option. Available on Amazon Prime.
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Tyler Wilson is film critic and member of the International Press Academy. He has been writing about movies since 2000, including a regular column in The Press since 2006. He can be reached at twilson@cdapress.com.