The Hunter
1/4
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Morgana Davies, Frances O'Connor, Finn Woodlock, Sam Neill
Rated R for Language and Brief Violence
God, I really hate movies that do nothing with an interesting premise. It reeks of ego. Audiences are coming to see a movie based on the premise that they heard about. But to only give it cursory mention in favor of half-baked individuals that have nothing to do with the story is a slap in the face.
The idea, that a company would want to find the last member of a species so they could kill it, copyright its DNA and bring it back into existence, is interesting and provocative (the film was made two years before Molecular Pathology vs. Myriad Genetics, which ruled that genetic patenting of naturally occurring genes is illegal). Sadly, the only thing that director Daniel Nettheim does with it is provide some segments of Martin (Dafoe) running around the woods of Tasmania setting traps or hiding from the elements. The bulk of the movie is his development of a paternal relationship between him and the two children of the woman that he's staying with. Making matters worse is that they're totally undeveloped and their breaking down of Martin's barriers couldn't be more boring or less complete.
At least the acting is on solid ground. Willem Dafoe is always interesting, even in lackluster movies like this or "The Reckoning." But there's little for him to work with, so the amount of rooting interest that he generates in Martin is a lot. Young Morgana Davies shows spunk and ability as the foul-mouthed daughter of Lucy (O'Connor), the invalid whose room Martin rents. She's neither too cute nor too ostentatious. Finn Woodlock, in his feature debut, appears to be bored out of his mind, but then again he doesn't say anything and is nothing more than a plot device present solely to manufacture sympathy and mystery. Sam Neill is his usual reliable self, but his character is entirely superfluous. Frances O'Connor has virtually nothing to do.
The film saves the worst for last. It's rushed through with such cheap theatrics that it borders on insulting. Total "WTF." And just when the hunting plotline was getting interesting, it wraps up in a series of bait-and-switches that come in rapid fire succession. Nettheim wants the film to have its cake and eat it too, but the result is a cheat with a poorly motivated topping.
I kept thinking of another movie that takes place Down Under that wastes another interesting premise on pointless twaddle. That movie is "Tracker." Like that film, it has an interesting cast and it looks great. Also like that film, it totally blows.
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Morgana Davies, Frances O'Connor, Finn Woodlock, Sam Neill
Rated R for Language and Brief Violence
God, I really hate movies that do nothing with an interesting premise. It reeks of ego. Audiences are coming to see a movie based on the premise that they heard about. But to only give it cursory mention in favor of half-baked individuals that have nothing to do with the story is a slap in the face.
The idea, that a company would want to find the last member of a species so they could kill it, copyright its DNA and bring it back into existence, is interesting and provocative (the film was made two years before Molecular Pathology vs. Myriad Genetics, which ruled that genetic patenting of naturally occurring genes is illegal). Sadly, the only thing that director Daniel Nettheim does with it is provide some segments of Martin (Dafoe) running around the woods of Tasmania setting traps or hiding from the elements. The bulk of the movie is his development of a paternal relationship between him and the two children of the woman that he's staying with. Making matters worse is that they're totally undeveloped and their breaking down of Martin's barriers couldn't be more boring or less complete.
At least the acting is on solid ground. Willem Dafoe is always interesting, even in lackluster movies like this or "The Reckoning." But there's little for him to work with, so the amount of rooting interest that he generates in Martin is a lot. Young Morgana Davies shows spunk and ability as the foul-mouthed daughter of Lucy (O'Connor), the invalid whose room Martin rents. She's neither too cute nor too ostentatious. Finn Woodlock, in his feature debut, appears to be bored out of his mind, but then again he doesn't say anything and is nothing more than a plot device present solely to manufacture sympathy and mystery. Sam Neill is his usual reliable self, but his character is entirely superfluous. Frances O'Connor has virtually nothing to do.
The film saves the worst for last. It's rushed through with such cheap theatrics that it borders on insulting. Total "WTF." And just when the hunting plotline was getting interesting, it wraps up in a series of bait-and-switches that come in rapid fire succession. Nettheim wants the film to have its cake and eat it too, but the result is a cheat with a poorly motivated topping.
I kept thinking of another movie that takes place Down Under that wastes another interesting premise on pointless twaddle. That movie is "Tracker." Like that film, it has an interesting cast and it looks great. Also like that film, it totally blows.
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