Movie Review: Force of Nature - The Dry 2

 Movie Number 7 of 2024

The Movie: Force of Nature - The Dry 2

The Cinema: Hoyts Victoria Gardens

Stars: 4

I remember loving Jane Harper's The Dry. I also loved The Lost Man. Exiles, not so much. 

I've had her novel Force of Nature sitting next to my bed in preparation for reading this before seeing the film. Alas, it didn't happen. 

Did it matter that I hadn't read the book? Nope. This was an enjoyable two hours of Australian cinema. 

In a nutshell, five corporate types from a mean and nasty finance company (that looked at bit like Macquarie or Deloitte Consulting) go on a team building weekend in one of Victoria's national parks. The Girawongs look a hell of a lot like the Dandenongs, but we'll let that one slide. 

Of the five team members, only four find their way to safety. The fifth, Alice (Anna Torv) is listed as missing, and a lot of the movie is spent looking for her in the driving rain. 

Alice is also a witness for the police case that are trying to bring her boss (Richard Roxburgh) down. 

She has been in cahoots with Aaron Falk (Eric Bana) who is pressuring her to get more evidence against her boss in return for immunity.  

And the movie is spent hunting around this mythical landscape, looking for Alice, working out just what went on between these five women, learning a bit about Aaron Falk's back story and not much else. 

This is a good Australian film - not the best, by any standard, but it makes for an entertaining two hours. Robert Connelly's direction is steady. Having worked with both Jane Harper and Eric Bana before, it feels like he's taken on this job with confidence. 

For me, the highlight of the film was the scenery. The Dandenongs and Otway Ranges make a wonderful setting for the made up Girawong Ranges. The cinematography is stunning. 

Yet, as movies go, this is fine. Nothing to rave about, but nothing to complain about either. 

I think, that like The Dry, read the book first. From what friends have told me, Force of Nature is even better. 

This was a passable way to spend a Sunday afternoon. 

Today's song: