Julia Roberts and Ethan Hawke are getting to work on their new Netflix thriller.
20.05.2022 - 20:11 / variety.com
Peter Debruge Chief Film CriticWho knew that police sting operations did — or even could — work like the one seen in “The Stranger”? Based on the extensive Mr. Big ruse that brought a notorious Australian kidnapper to justice, this eerie, understated thriller draws the audience into the same deception used to ensnare the culprit, focusing on psychology more than procedure in its entrancing account of a most unusual criminal investigation.
The case echoes Denis Villeneuve’s “Prisoners” at times, minus the twisted genre-movie payoff, which will limit commercial prospects beyond Oz shores.With a tortured performance by producer-star Joel Edgerton at its core, this second feature from gifted actor-turned-helmer Thomas M. Wright is as much about befriending the devil as his terrific 2018 debut, “Acute Misfortune,” was.
(That film re-created the moth-to-flame portrait of a self-destructive bad-boy artist by an easily manipulated young journalist. Here, an undercover cop must cozy up to an unrepentant human monster.) Premiering in Un Certain Regard at Cannes, “The Stranger” confirms that Wright has arrived, even if his treatment sometimes feels more oblique and self-consciously arty than the material demands.
Pretty much everyone in Australia knows the case of Daniel Morcombe, the 13-year-old boy who disappeared from a Queensland bus stop. Like last year’s Cannes competition entry “Nitram,” about the country’s worst mass shooting, downplaying the crime itself is a way of depriving the real-world perpetrator of the toxic brand of tabloid celebrity that American media and movies so often confer upon evildoers.
Julia Roberts and Ethan Hawke are getting to work on their new Netflix thriller.
Home sweet home! Jill Dillard (née Duggar) and her husband, Derick Dillard, shared photos of their new home shortly after announcing their move to Oklahoma.
Starting fresh. Jill Dillard (née Duggar) and husband Derick Dillard kept busy by moving into a new home while Josh Duggar was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison.
EXCLUSIVE: Orlando Bloom is set to join Pete Davidson, Naomi Scott, Franz Rogowski and Sean Harris in Wizards!, a new film from Australian writer-director David Michôd that reteams A24 and Plan B Entertainment. Michôd also penned the script, which is based on a story by Joel Edgerton and Michôd. Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner of Plan B will produce alongside Liz Watts.
Jill Duggar has shared a passionate statement with fans, suggesting that her brother Josh has yet to show any rehabilitation, a year after his arrest and months following his guilty verdict.MORE: Jill Duggar praises importance of community amid brother Josh Duggar's arrestJosh Duggar was found guilty in December on the charge of "receipt of child pornography" and on Thursday 25 May was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison.
Jill Duggar and her husband Derick Dillard are speaking out on Josh Duggar’s prison sentencing!
Facing the consequences. Jill Dillard (née Duggar) and husband Derick Dillard explained that they were “neither rejoicing nor disappointed” after Josh Duggar was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison on child pornography charges.
Deadline’s studio at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival kicked off at the American Pavilion by hosting fest-goers such as Joel Edgerton of The Stranger, Jesse Eisenberg and Julianne Moore of When You Finish Saving The World, and many more. Click on the photo above to launch the gallery.
New digs for a Duggar! Jill Dillard (née Duggar) shared photos of her new house as she and husband Derick Dillard prepare to welcome their third child together.
With the true-crime renaissance in full swing over on the small screen, it feels appropriate that a similar spike should be felt in the moviehouse. “The Stranger,” the sophomore feature from Aussie TV guy Thomas M.
An undercover cop befriends a murder suspect in The Stranger, a taut Australian thriller in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section. Written and directed by Thomas M. Wright (Acute Misfortune), it features excellent performances from Sean Harris and Joel Edgerton, who also serves as producer.
Gregg Goldstein Australian native Thomas M. Wright is no stranger to dark material.
Paul Schrader’s last two films, last year’s “The Card Counter” and 2018’s “First Reformed,” are among the most critically acclaimed of his career. So, will his follow-up keep the streak going? Audiences find out soon as Schrader’s next film, “Master Gardner,” hits theaters later this year.
K.J. Yossman HanWay Films have unveiled a first look image from Paul Schrader’s “Master Gardener,” starring Joel Edgerton and Sigourney Weaver.“Master Gardener” tells the story of horticulturist Narvel Roth (played by Edgerton), who tends to a beautiful and historic estate owned by wealthy dowager Mrs Haverhill (Weaver).
Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefDirector Robert Connolly and star Eric Bana are reuniting for a detective film based on the novel “Force of Nature,” set in the Australian wilderness.Connolly and Bana were previously teamed on Australian smash hit movie “The Dry,” which like “Force of Nature” was adapted from a novel by Jane Harper. They also worked together on “Blueback,” a family-friendly, ecologically activist celebration of the natural world, adapted from a Tim Winton novella.“Force of Nature” sees five women take part in a corporate hiking retreat, with only four coming out on the other side.