Based on Jane Harper’s award-winning novel of the same name, Eric Bana returns to the big screen in the new Australian crime thriller, The Dry.
Directed by Robert Connolly (Balibo, Paper Planes, Deep State), The Dry is a drama-thriller centred around a federal agent who must confront a deadly secret from his past, and also stars Genevieve O’Reilly, Keir O’Donnell, John Polson, Julia Blake, Bruce Spence, Matt Nable, William Zappa, James Frecheville, Joe Klocek, Claude Scott-Mitchell, Sam Corlett, BeBe Bettencourt, Miranda Tapsell, Daniel Frederiksen, Jeremy Lindsay Taylor, Eddie Baroo and Renee Lim.
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, 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.
Filmed across more than 15 towns in rural Victoria, last year, Bana said he had already read and felt a deep connection with the book before he was approached to play the lead. “Jane had plotted this amazing journey that we then got to turn into the best possible version for cinema,” he said.
More than 1 million copies of The Dry have been sold worldwide. The book has been awarded numerous major prizes internationally, including the CWA Gold Dagger for Best Crime Novel, the British Book Awards Crime and Thriller Book of the Year, the Australian Book Industry Awards Book of the Year and the Australian Indie Awards Book of the Year.
“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,” said Author Jane Harper. “I loved it and I know readers will too.
“My huge thanks go to producers Made Up Stories and director and screenwriter Robert Connolly who has been such a driving force behind this beautiful adaptation,” she added.
The Dry screens across Australia from 1 January 2021. For more information, visit: www.roadshow.com.au for details. Checkout the trailer here!
Image: Eric Bana stars as Aaron Falk in The Dry – courtesy of Roadshow