The Hunter (2011)

Drama, Thriller, Adventure

Director: Daniel Nettheim
Writers: Alice Addison, Wain Fimeri, Daniel Nettheim, Julia Leigh
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Frances O'Connor, Sam Neill, Morgana Davies

"Some Mysteries Should Never Be Solved"

In The Hunter, Willem Dafoe plays a loner mercenary who is sent by a mysterious biotech company to Tasmania to track down and hunt the last Tasmanian Tiger, a creature that's been extinct since the 1930s, and collect its biological samples. We see him wandering through the breath-taking unique Tasmanian wilderness, in search of the animal, while also falling in the middle of a broken family that hosts him, and a divided local community that appears to dislike him.

Based on the 1999 novel of the same name by Julia Leigh, the film is a gorgeously shot psychological drama that has an extremely captivating atmosphere, featuring one of the best performances of Willem Dafoe and an assured direction from Daniel Nettheim, who brilliantly exploits the actor's expressive face against the silent and beautiful yet harsh and desolate Tasmanian scenery.

Plot summary from IMDb: The independent and lonely hunter Martin David is hired by the powerful biotech company Red Leaf to hunt down the last Tasmanian tiger. Red Leaf is interested in the DNA of the animal and Martin travels to Tasmania alone. He poses as a researcher from a university and lodges in the house of Lucy Armstrong. Martin learns that Lucy's husband has been missing for a long time and he befriends her children, Sass and Bike. When Martin goes to the village, he has a hostile reception from the locals. Along the days, Martin spends his days in the Tasmanian wilderness chasing the Tiger and becomes closer and closer to the Armstrong family. But Red Leaf wants results no matter the costs.

Awards: 4 wins & 23 nominations.
Runtime: 100 min
R