Despite having kickstarted his career with comedy, Eric Bana has made his mark through more dramatic means. Chopper, Black Hawk Down, Munich, Romulus, My Father – any time Bana delves into serious subject matters, you can be certain it’ll be worthy of our attention. The feature-length adaptation of best-selling crime novel – The Dry – appears to be no different.
Written by Australian author Jane Harper, the source material first gained international attention a few years ago when it secured a great number of literary awards – ranging from Amazon’s Best Mystery & Thriller Novel Award 2017 to the British Crime & Thriller Book of the Year 2018. Naturally, this homegrown achievement had to remain in Aussie hands through and through (hence the domestic adaptation).
The synopsis for the film is as follows:
Federal Agent Aaron Falk (Bana) returns to his home town after an absence of over twenty years to attend the funeral of his childhood friend, Luke (Martin Dingle Wall), who allegedly killed his wife and child before taking his own life – a victim of the madness that has ravaged this community after more than a decade of drought.
When Falk reluctantly agrees to stay and investigate the crime, he opens up an old wound – the death of 17- year-old Ellie Deacon. Falk begins to suspect these two crimes, separated by decades, are connected. As he struggles to prove not only Luke’s innocence but also his own, Falk finds himself pitted against the prejudice towards him and pent-up rage of a terrified community.
Bana and Wall will be joined by Genevieve O’Reilly, Keir O’Donnell, Matt Nable, James Frecheville, Renee Lim, Miranda Tapsell, William Zappa, John Polson, and more.
“It’s such a great adaptation in that it celebrates the spirit and characters of The Dry and remains faithful to the story, while still being a fantastic movie in its own right,” says Jane Harper.
“I loved it and I know readers will too.”
The Dry will be released on January 1st of 2021 (New Year’s Day).
