The Stranger proves that Wright is a capable director and writer who can create a compelling piece of art that unsettles audiences.

Joel Edgerton in The Stranger

Netflix has yet another true crime narrative available on its platform, and once again, it is bound to receive criticism for how it depicts a real-life event. The Stranger is a fictional account of the investigation to solve the murder of a 13-year-old boy in Australia. However, this tale strips away the key factual details and follows the attempt to capture the killer through an elaborate sting operation by the police. While the filmmakers chose to leave the child’s name out of the film, the young boy’s family decried the making of this film. However, the result presents a very strong case for why original filmmaking should be reprioritized in the industry.
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Written and directed by Thomas M. Wright, the Australian crime thriller — based on Kate Kyriacou’s novel The Sting: The Undercover Operation That Caught Daniel Morcombe’s Killer — follows a group of undercover cops, who, inspired by a Canadian police operation, create an elaborate scheme to trap a kidnapping and murder suspect to retrieve a confession and the possible location of the victim’s body nearly a decade after the abduction. This operation required the suspect to be befriended, something he has long craved.

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Joel Edgerton and Sean Harris in The Stranger

The thriller is an actor’s showcase, centering powerful performances by Joel Edgerton and a surprisingly impactful performance from Sean Harris, an actor best known for playing villains. By avoiding the actual crime and focusing on the investigation years after the initial abduction, Wright is seemingly being merciful by not dragging the family’s ordeal into the mix. This, in turn, props up the police and the suspect as the only characters of interest in this story, thus creating a character-driven narrative paid off by excellent performances. To Wright’s and the actors’ credit, The Stranger succeeds at having the audience enraptured by the performances and the story that unfolds around this friendship.

The film is dark and gloomy, the atmosphere thick with dread and suspense. Sam Chiplin’s cinematography turns the desolate Australian Outback into the perfect battlefield for this psychological war. Oliver Coates’ score amps up the isolation, the distrust, the stakes and, more importantly, the seriousness of the whole operation. Wright’s intent is to keep the audience off balance, sometimes threatening to disorient in the first two acts as the mystery slowly is pulled into focus. There is a brutality to the film that isn’t forced by graphic violence or over-the-top and harsh actions. There is a subtlety to it. However, what is perhaps the crime thriller’s most influential — albeit unintentional — part of the film is the sense of unease as the narrative tiptoes around the real-life missing case of a 13-year-old boy.

Joel Edgerton in The Stranger

To be fair to Wright and actor-producer Joel Edgerton, The Stranger is an effective and affecting psychological thriller. Enough is changed from the real story to create some semblance of originality, allowing the audience to sink their teeth into the narrative without feeling like voyeurs to a horrific crime. To many non-Australian viewers, it will be the opening note that states the film is based on a true story that will give it away. Most viewers will probably find the story made up, as such an investigation, and the confessions they yield, are not permissible in criminal courts in the United States and in most regions around the world. Overall, The Stranger is compelling, enthralling, and brilliantly executed.

The core issue that will make or break one’s viewing experience is questioning the desire to tie it to a real case. The approach to solving this case is unique and instrumental to solving the biggest kidnapping case in Australia. However, the tactic itself is reason enough to inspire a crime thriller; the real-life case could have been kept entirely out of it. Out of respect to the family who was so adamantly against this film, perhaps fundamentally changing the crime in question would have allowed this film to flourish without any controversy. At the core, the film has an interesting thing to say about the effects of diving deep undercover to uncover the truth and catch a predator. The tiring, stressful endeavor is painful to watch as the film slowly builds suspense. The investigation and how it was carried out draw audience’s attention.

As with the countless reboots and remakes, true crime thrillers don’t need to retraumatize victims and their families. Creativity and a touch of originality could spare everyone the grief.The Stranger proves that Wright is a capable director and writer who can create a compelling piece of art that unsettles audiences and draws out effective performances. One wishes his efforts were not anchored by the need to recapture the atmosphere of a real-life traumatic event.

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The Stranger began streaming on Netflix October 19. The film is 117 minutes long and is rated TV-MA.