The Stranger Review: Is It Worth Your Time or Is It Just Hype?

The Stranger is an Australian psychological crime thriller movie from 2022 that stars Joel Edgerton and Sean Harris. It was written and directed by Thomas M. Wright.

Inspired by the investigation into the murder of Daniel Morcombe, and based on the nonfiction book The Sting: The Undercover Operation That Caught Daniel Morcombe’s Killer by Kate Kyriacou, the film follows an undercover police officer (Edgerton) in a sting operation is tasked with getting close to and befriending the prime suspect in a child abduction case (Harris). Here is the review of ‘The Stranger’:

The Review of ‘The Stranger’

‘Based on a genuine story,’ it says right up front. It would be impolite to reveal too much about the movie’s script. We don’t know how faithful the movie was to the actual investigation, but the series successfully built suspense and unease right up until the end.

The film feels very much like a documentary, so those who aren’t fans of the genre could be disappointed. The fast cuts from one scene to another, each set in a different location, add to the film’s unsettling atmosphere. Being a feature-length film meant that there was less time spent on unnecessary speech and more on those which advanced the plot and allowed the characters to develop.

The film achieves its goals primarily via its actions, rather than through any deep, meaningful conversation. So, we are merely observers trying to make sense of the unfolding events. Though I walked into the film without any background knowledge and had some initial bewilderment, the pieces eventually fit together like a jigsaw puzzle.

The picture moves at a relaxed pace and exudes an atmosphere of serenity. Even though there are brief moments of mildly distracting noise, the film is mostly set against a serene backdrop. The score fit the mood of the movie well, too. This distracting hum increases our heart rates whenever an interesting moment appears on the screen. The film also features a mostly dark color palette.

When Sean Harris’ character, Henry, is first presented, the screen goes completely dark and a spotlight is trained on him. The ambient noises deserve another nod of praise for the effective way they contributed to the film’s eerie mood. They didn’t disrupt the flow of the movie or distract from what was happening on screen.

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Being able to identify with the investigation team as a viewer suggests that the inquiry’s direction and writing are competent. It also put us in the shoes of the police officers working the case, allowing us to feel their anguish and anxiety firsthand.

IMDB Rating

According to IMDB, The Stranger movie gets a 6.6 rating out of 10.

The Stranger Review

Taking a Look at the Movie’s Overall Reception

At Rotten Tomatoes, they claim that 75 percent of the 39 reviews are good, with an average score of 7.8 out of 10. The film has received “generally excellent reviews,” according to Metacritic’s weighted average of critics’ scores. The site awarded it 74 out of 100.

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Wrapping Up

The Stranger is an Australian psychological crime thriller movie from 2022 that stars Joel Edgerton and Sean Harris. It was inspired by the investigation into the murder of Daniel Morcombe and based on the nonfiction book The Sting: The Undercover Operation That Caught Daniel Morcombe’s Killer by Kate Kyriacou.

It follows an undercover police officer (Edgerton) in a sting operation tasked with getting close to and befriending the prime suspect in a child abduction case. The film feels like a documentary, with fast cuts from one scene to another adding to the unsettling atmosphere. It achieves its goals primarily through its actions, rather than through any deep, meaningful conversation.

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