The Dry

 3/4

Starring: Eric Bana, Genevieve O'Reilly, Keir O'Donnell, John Polson, Julia Blake, Bruce Spence, William Zappa, Matt Nable, James Frecheville

Rated R for Violence, and Language Throughout

Atmosphere is essential for a thriller.  Essential, essential, essential.  A powerful sense of menace and dread can be what separates a great thriller like "Se7en" from any episode of "Law and Order."  And that's what "The Dry" is lacking.  Director Robert Connelly and his production team try to use the weather and the secrecy of a small town to generate tension, but for the most part it doesn't work.  Don't get me wrong, "The Dry" is a good movie and it is worth seeing.  It's just that because it doesn't have the right mood to supplement the solid story and great performances, it's just a good mystery instead of a great one.

Luke Hadler shot his wife and son before driving to the middle of nowhere and turning the gun on himself.  Only his baby daughter Charlotte survived unscathed.  His old friend Falk (Bana) has arrived from the city to attend the funeral.  Luke's mother (Blake) is convinced that this was not a murder-suicide, and asks Falk, now a police officer,  to investigate.  The deeper he digs into the death of his friend, the more he suspects that it is connected to the mysterious death of a classmate 20 years ago.

"The Dry" is a very, very dark story.  But the pain of a man's past coming back to haunt him doesn't come across.  Connelly plays the film straight, and that robs it of much of its potential power.  The story takes place in a tiny farming town in the middle of the Australian outback.  But there is no sense of isolation nor of the overbearing heat.  It hasn't rained in this town in nearly a year, but it doesn't feel any different than any other hot day.  It's the director's job to use facts like these to supplement his story, but Connelly isn't up to the task.

Still, he's an effective storyteller.  I was consistently engaged and wanted to see the story through to the end.  I also had no idea where either of the stories he told were going to lead.  Those are positive qualities that cannot be overlooked.  I'm happy to give Connelly credit where credit is due.

Eric Bana may be one of Australia's most unsung imports.  He did get the lead in "Hulk" and was the best thing in "Troy." but despite his list of strong performances, he's not the household name he deserves to be. Bana has the screen presence of a movie star and the talent to back it up.  He has the body language right to show that Falk is a seasoned cop who has conducted many murder investigations.  But he's also good at showing the weight of 20 years worth of guilt and making us wonder if he's as innocent as he claims to be.  This is the kind of role that is harder than it looks.  He's very good.

He's surrounded by a cast that is virtually unknown to me, but is quite talented.  Genevieve O'Reilly is terrific as an older woman who hasn't lost her sex appeal, and whose relationship with Falk is based on memory.  Keir O'Donnell once again plays a eager beaver dweeb.  And both William Zappa and Matt Nable ooze malice.

"The Dry" isn't anything special and how the film arrives at its ending is a bit rushed, but for what it is, I enjoyed it.

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