The Stranger Review
9/10
There is a particular style of psychological crime thriller that comes from Australia. I first noticed it in David Michôd’s 2010 film Animal Kingdom. The characters’ intentions are not usually clear upfront, and the tension is a gradual boil rather than immediate heat. Films like this are more similar to the art house gems of Australia that came from the 70s like Peter Weir’s Picnic at Hanging Rock and Ted Kotcheff’s brilliant Wake in Fright rather than Mad Max. Thomas M. Wright’s film The Stranger is a great example of how to build suspense and hint at the possibility of violence.
It is based on a real case in Australia where police set up an elaborate sting effort to capture the abductor of a young boy, Daniel Morcombe. This involved creating a fictional criminal organization to lure the suspect in and get him to do low-level work. Eventually, after being befriended by an undercover officer, this would lead to a confession once they gained his trust and got him to open up about his crime. I don’t know all the specifics of the case beyond that. The film puts more focus on the dynamic between the suspect and the undercover cop.
The film also changes the names of those involved, which was probably the right call. The victim is not depicted in any form as well; he is only referred to. The Stranger introduces Henry Teague (Sean Harris) on a bus at night. There he meets Paul (Steve Mouzakis) and the two strike up a conversation. Henry is not the most talkative fellow, so it takes a while for Paul to lure him into the sting. The film doesn’t reveal this is all fake at first. Initially, I thought this criminal enterprise was real. This is part of what makes the film stand out, how meticulous and well planned this operation is. Henry is then introduced to his main contact Mark (Joel Edgerton.) He will bring Henry deeper into the fabricated underworld.
Mark is just his alias of course since he is the undercover cop trying to gain Henry’s trust. Their dynamic is cold and procedural for a while until Henry starts to become more comfortable around him. This is where the primary suspense comes from. The interesting thing is, at no point did I think Mark was going to be discovered. Their ruse is so meticulous that the possibility of being discovered seemed absurd. Henry is a strange and emotionally distant person, rarely revealing the inner workings of his mind. There may be instances where he starts to suspect this whole criminal enterprise is fraudulent, but he never shows his hand. It’s almost like he’s just happy to be a part of something and be involved.
Mark’s demeanor around Henry is calculating and cold by design. He needs to gain his allegiance, yet he cannot grow too close to him for fear of being found out. The undercover cop angle has been utilized countless times in films before. Anything from Serpico, to The Departed, to BlacKkKlansman. All the ones I can remember start with a person using a fake name and persona to infiltrate a criminal underworld of some kind. The Stranger is the first time I have seen a film where the undercover cop’s character and the criminal underbelly are simultaneously fake. I don’t know the full extent of the real operation, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it was as realistic as the film portrays.
We pretty much know throughout the film that Henry is guilty; it’s just a matter of proving it. The film takes its time with showing the development of the characters and the world Henry is drawn into. The story is far more interested in the psychology of the characters rather than being a fast-paced action-thriller. Part of Mark’s job is burying his emotions beneath the veil of his alias. He is difficult to read, even when the tension is escalating. Henry is the same way. The two men form an unconventional bond based entirely on lies. Mark knows that Henry is guilty and is sacrificing his mental health to prove it.
Here is where The Stranger deviates from crime film norms. The characters shown to experience trauma in stories like this are usually the victims and their families. For good reason obviously, they are the ones who suffer the most. The Stranger decides to stray from that idea and instead focuses on Mark’s trauma. We don’t even see the family, or anyone related to the case outside the cops. Some may find this insensitive to the real-life family, especially since the real parents of Daniel Morcombe called on viewers to boycott the film. They had been asked to contribute to the film and declined to be involved. That is the main reason why all the names were changed out of respect.
This is a difficult subject with no easy answers. Is this film profiting from the pain of the Morcombe’s? Aren’t many films based on actual atrocities doing the same thing? Whether a not a film is sensitive to what happened is up for debate. Another recent Australian film, Nitram, sparked a similar debate. If you think this film glamorizes and creates sympathy for the murderer, then you are quite right to think it is offensive. There is no way for me to ever understand what the Morcombe’s experienced. Seeing their pain projected on a big screen for paying viewers would just bring up what they suffered through again. So, I don’t blame them or anybody else for deciding against seeing this film. It doesn’t excuse Henry’s actions, but it does attempt to paint a portrait of a damaged and twisted individual. One whom some would wish to never see personified on screen.
From my perspective, I think The Stranger is a remarkable examination of confronting evil and how it twists your psyche. Mark is mentally shattered by his time as an undercover cop. We can never truly comprehend the level of paranoia it must inflict to have that life. He barely sleeps and when he does, his dreams are haunted by Henry and what he did. We see glimpses of tenderness between Mark and his son (Cormac Wright.) These are essential to showing Mark’s humanity and how he is a good man at heart, thrust into a horrific situation. We only see his wife once, so it is clear he lives alone and takes care of his son when he can.
Sean Harris and Joel Edgerton are exceptional. Both express a multitude of layers in their performance. Harris is intense and perpetually teetering on the edge of his mental state. You never know whether or not he is going to lash out or not. His quiet delivery makes him uncomfortable to watch. Edgerton is equally intense and hides his trauma behind exhausted eyes. He does whatever he can to expose Henry’s crime, but these efforts are slowly destroying him. My one main issue with the film is how difficult it is to understand Harris at times. His heavy accent combined with his whispery voice makes him occasionally incomprehensible. Others may have the same problem.
If you want to see a great slow-burn drama with ever-mounting dread and fear, then I highly recommend The Stranger.
