The Dry Movie Storyline. Federal Agent Aaron Falk returns to his home town Kiewarra after an absence of over twenty years to attend the funeral of his childhood friend, Luke, who allegedly killed his wife Karen and child Billy (sparing baby daughter Charlotte) before taking his own life. Luke’s parents persuade a reluctant Falk to stay and investigate the circumstances of the crime.
Falk and his father left the town 20 years ago to escape harassment when Falk was suspected in the death of his girlfriend. Now he is continuously harassed by the townspeople even though it has been 20 years since the death of 17-year-old Ellie Deacon. With the help of the local sergeant Greg Raco, he begins to look into the events surrounding Luke’s death. They discover that the bullets used in the crime were Remingtons while Luke only owned Winchesters.
Falk interviews Scott Whitlam, the local school principal and Karen’s boss, who explains that although she was struggling to raise funds for the school, she didn’t seem to have any troubles. When Falk discovers the word ‘grant?’ on the back of the library receipt, he suspects that Ellie’s brother Grant Dow wants to purchase the family’s farm once Luke’s parents, who cannot manage it themselves, put it on the market. Dow denies this, although he and Mal (Ellie’s father) are still vile towards Falk.
When Falk visits Gretchen, another childhood friend and Karen’s co-worker, she explains some documents on her table are applications for school funding. While reminiscing over an old photo album, Falk sees a photo of Luke holding Gretchen’s newborn son Lachlan. When he confronts Gretchen saying Luke is the father, Gretchen denies this but indirectly confirms they were having an affair. Next morning, Falk steals some of the funding applications from Gretchen’s house and realises that Karen wrote the word ‘grant?’ in reference to finances. He now suspects Whitlam of embezzlement.
Falk and Raco go to question Whitlam at the school, only to find he has fled to the bush with a jerry can of gasoline and a lighter. Whitlam admits to his gambling addiction, stealing money from the school to pay his debts, and murdering the family to cover up his fraud. Whitlam drenches himself in the petrol and sets himself on fire. Falk and Raco tackle him to the ground and put out the fire. Raco is burnt and hospitalised, the investigation is closed, and Luke’s parents thank Falk for proving Luke’s innocence.
The Dry is a 2020 Australian mystery drama thriller film directed by Robert Connolly, from a screenplay by Connolly and Harry Cripps, and starring Eric Bana, Genevieve O’Reilly, Keir O’Donnell and John Polson. The film is based on the 2016 book of the same name by Jane Harper. Roadshow Films released the film in Australia on 1 January 2021, and received positive reviews from critics. IFC Films released the film in the United States on May 21, 2021.
The film was due for release on August 27, 2020 but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It had its premiere in Melbourne on December 11, 2020, and was released wide by Roadshow Films in Australia and New Zealand on January 1, 2021.
It was announced on 9 February that through Cornerstone Films, the film has entered into distribution deals with Leonine for German-speaking Europe, Swift for France, Notorious for Italy and Spain, Selmer Media for Scandinavia, Three Lines for Benelux, M2 Films for Eastern Europe, Terry Steiner International for international airlines and ships, with UK negotiations ongoing.
It was announced on February 18, that IFC Films acquired the film for distribution in North America, with a planned release date in cinemas and on-demand of May 21, 2021. The film screened at the SFFILM Festival on April 10, 2021, and was named one of the must see films of the festival.
The Dry (2021)
Directed by: Robert Connolly
Starring: Eric Bana, Joe Klocek, Genevieve O’Reilly, Claude Scott-Mitchell, Keir O’Donnell, John Polson, Bebe Bettencourt, Martin Dingle-Wall, Sam Corlett, Bruce Spence, Julia Blake
Screenplay by: Robert Connolly, Harry Cripps
Production Design by: Ruby Mathers
Cinematography by: Stefan Duscio
Film Editing by: Nick Meyers, Alexandre de Franceschi
Costume Design by: Cappi Ireland
Set Decoration by: Leah Popple
Art Direction by: Mandi Bialek-Wester
Music by: Peter Raeburn
MPAA Rating: R for violence, and language throughout.
Distributed by: Roadshow Films
Release Date: December 11, 2020 (Melbourne), January 1, 2021 (Australia), May 21, 2021 (United States)
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