The Stranger

Good movie!

Good movie!

Good movie!

Good movie!

Very dark and gritty. Slow paced, psychological tension built up to a point where I was rly unnerved and uncomfortable, in an awesome way. Glad I saw and listened to that one review, which advised not to look much further into more reviews that might give away too much. So going into it knowing almost nothing is what I recommend as well. The shots, the minimalistic dark OST, the pace it all fit very well together. At moments it felt way too real and I could empathize a lot with some of the characters. Being intentionally very vague, and won't get into the story for the aforementioned reason. I will recommend this movie to some of my friends, especially those who I know share my passion for slow, dark and gritty non-flashy movies, that make you feel you need a goddamn beer to deal with the induced anxiety, after viewing it. Have fun!

This film is slow, really slow which is not a problem if there is character building or slowing increasing tension with a payoff. That does not happen here. It is just slow in the ending as the beginning. The problem is the movie/director is splicing in about four separate stories with flashbacks without any context. I was almost an hour in the film and not sure who was who or why. By the time I did understand what was happening you are expecting a big reveal based upon the four convoluted stories that is forced upon you to decipher. When there was no 'big reveal' you start questioning why the director forced those flashbacks that did not go anywhere. Other problem...mumbling. And this happens often from different characters. This is okay to establish the scene, but different characters are mumbling and you have to re-watch with subtitles to see what they were saying. The director is so intent to setting a 'glooming, brooding atmosphere' that they forgot this a a movie that people are watching who needs to see the screen and hear what is going on. There is no climax because the director showed his hand earlier which makes the pacing more infuriating. I am not saying do not watch it, only saying to manage your expectations.

The trailer and IMDB synopsis for this film tell you very little. I went in knowing only that, and that made the experience fantastic. What an exciting and creepy story. I read a few reviews here, and saw that they spoil a lot. It's up to you, but my advice is: don't read the reviews, and go see the film. I'll only tell you this: it's not a family film or a comedy. But for the rest, any adult viewer has nothing to worry about, and odds are that you'll find this film interesting. It's a calm film, but not slow paced. Looks good, great acting. It's worth it going in with only what the trailer showed you. It's based on a true story.

As an Australian I'm familiar with this awful abduction case in Queensland where a young boy was waiting for a bus, one failed to stop for him and he was never seen again. The bus driver who failed to stop must be feeling terrible. The film starts well and ends well but there is at least 30 minutes of filler in the middle that was nonsense that could've been discarded to make a tighter film. I almost turned off as it was so annoying. Great acting by the two lead characters let down by a poor script that meandered all over the place. A lot of the under cover stuff seemed to go nowhere and became very peripheral to the case.

If Daniel Morcombe's mum did not support the making of this film, it is distasteful in audiences supporting this film. I would give it zero stars if I could. You can show your support to Daniels mum by boycotting this film. There is nothing entertaining about the murder of a child. There is nothing talented about taking a tragedy and making a movie knowing it is upsetting a victim's family. There is nothing entertaining about a movie that was made AGAINST DANIEL'S PARENTS WISHES. There is enough content and ideas in the world that we don't need to tread on grieving families. Show your support for Daniel's family and BOYCOTT this film.

Easily the most tension film I have watched in years. The story is riveting, dark, and complex. As someone with 32 years in law enforcement, including undercover activity (far sumpler and more short term than what is portrayed in this film), I'll assert this was a masterpiece that definitely had some experienced technical advisors. My wife and I were both transfixes by the journey of both the suspect and the undercover as they slowly and carefully inched toward the revelation of the truth. Not a film I would let any child under 13 watch, possibly even a couple years older. It's a great film, but certainly not easy to watch at many points.