By Lloyd Dodsworth
The concept of being lost in the bush rings throughout the Australian psyche. Picnic At Hanging Rock and various high-profile cases of missing persons loom ominously in the background of any given hike,so Robert Connolly’s Force of Nature had some big gumboots to step into. That’s not even considering its prequel, The Dry, which broke box-office records to become one of the top 15 highest-grossing Australian films of all time.
While The Dry took viewers to a stark, tinderbox outback where the smallest stray ember could be catastrophic, Force of Nature brings the action to the wetland brush of Victoria’s unforgiving forests, where one wrong turn can lead to disaster down the track.
Investigating the disappearance of a woman lost on a corporate team-building hike, Eric Bana’s Detective Aaron Falk is a welcome return to cinemas, joined this time by a feast of Australian talent, including Anna Torv (Mindhunter, The Last of Us) and Deborra-Lee Furness (Jindabyne), and reuniting with Richard Roxburgh for the first time since 2007’s locally-shot Romulus, My Father.
As we’re drip-fed information from the four remaining women, a shaky picture emerges, one which Detective Falk must piece together before the survival rate of the lost Alice drops to zero. Flashbacks to the doomed trek show a tension-filled journey devolving into outright hostility, with Torv and Furness dominating, stealing scenes back and forth any time they share the screen. Similarly, Bana and Roxburgh’s corporate CEO display two actors trading barbs at the top of their game, and one only wishes we had more of them together.
Robert Connolly continues his stellar streak of impeccable cinematography and sound design, his meld of Otways, Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges forests bringing the Victorian landscape to life like never before.
From its characters being rained on by guano to the dozens of leeches suffered by the actual cast and crew on location, the effect on the film is palpable, creating an atmosphere that suffocates as often as it stuns with its jaw-dropping imagery.
Like its predecessor, the film can be a slow-burn.
The first act especially does a lot of heavy-lifting when it comes to exposition, but once it all gets going Force of Nature lives up to its name, becoming a taut, pressurised thriller with satisfying twists and turns, engaging performances, all set against the gorgeous backdrop of the Victorian forest landscape.
Screening at Castlemaine’s Theatre Royal until March 26. Visit www.theatreroyalcastlemaine.com.au/films/thedry2 for details.
