A standalone film made in a classic style with no sequel set-up or franchise tie-ins? A straightforward mystery with compelling, defined characters without the need for a dedicated origin feature? How am I supposed to invest in a movie without the promise of several more films to come? Good lord, what year is it? After surviving the last twenty-odd years of moviegoing, I found myself repeatedly coming back to these questions (and more) while enjoying the simplicity of Robert Connolly’s The Dry – an old-fashioned whodunnit starring Eric Bana, set in his native Australia and based on the award-winning novel of the same name by Jane Harper. The story might have a few hiccups, but, if nothing else, The Dry serves as a refreshing reminder that conventional movies – ones that don’t exist in a “universe” or rely on ostentatious “truths” – can still be worthwhile, even desirable.
After returning to his hometown after a twenty-year absence, Federal Agent Aaron Falk (Bana) is compelled to look into the grisly murder-suicide death of a local family allegedly perpetrated at the hands of his childhood friend Luke (Martin Dingle-Wall). His homecoming, it turns out, has plenty of baggage of its own, as it is slowly revealed through flashbacks that Aaron and Luke were themselves involved in the death of a young girl when they were teenagers. As the two mysteries slowly and simultaneously unravel – with the help of another old friend and a local cop (played by Genevieve O’Reilly and Greg Raco) – Aaron is forced to reconcile with his past behavior as he confronts a hostile local populace in search of answers to Luke’s apparent crimes.
This double narrative approach adds a welcomed layer of depth to what could have been a by-the-books murder mystery. By contrasting the two stories, Connolly manages to unfold town history, past grudges, and emotional complications that would have been difficult to convey without the flashback sequences. To this end, motives and character development are allowed to flow naturally and are freed of any forced or hurried exposition. The flipside to this is that in a film where everyone is a suspect, the juggling act can quickly get out of control. Connolly has his hands full trying to keep it all together (and mostly succeeds), but the downfall of introducing so many potential perpetrators is evidenced in the film’s somewhat anticlimactic ending.
All this considered, The Dry still works much more than it doesn’t. It’s an old-school mystery-thriller that is sure to please those old enough to remember when these kinds of films could be successful vehicles, yet maintains enough drama and solid acting to appease those not wholly familiar with this particular tried-and-true brand of storytelling. It may seem strange, but with very little modification, I can easily imagine myself watching The Dry in a movie theater (or on home video) sometime between 1988 and 1994. Its throwback vibes are that strong.
James is a writer, record collector, wrestling nerd, and tabletop gamer living with his family in Asheville, North Carolina. He is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the North Carolina Film Critics Association, and contributes to The Daily Orca, Razorcake Magazine, Mountain Xpress, and Asheville Movies.