Strangerland is a 2015 drama suspense film directed by Kim Farrant in her directorial debut, and written by Michael Kinirons and Fiona Seres. The film stars Nicole Kidman, Joseph Fiennes, and Hugo Weaving.
Catherine and Matthew Parker move to a remote, dusty Australian desert town with their two children, Lily (a rebellious teen) and Tom (a younger, troubled boy). One day, Lily and Tom disappear without a trace, just before a dust storm. As the search intensifies, long-buried secrets about the family start to surface. Catherine becomes increasingly desperate, confronting not just the loss of her children but also the cracks in her marriage and the community’s suspicion.
The local police detective, David Rae, leads the investigation, uncovering Lily’s troubled and sexually provocative past, which complicates the search. The film builds around the tension of whether the children are still alive and whether the parents can face the truth about their family.
Tropes:
- Adults Dressed as Children: A serious example. While suffering a breakdown, Catherine puts on her 15 year old daughter's clothes and tries to seduce Burtie.
- "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: At the end of the movie, Matthew confesses to Catherine that he saw Tom and Lily leaving the house on the night they disappeared. He went to get his car keys to go after them, but then decided not to because he was angry at Lily and wanted to punish her.
- Deadly Dust Storm: Catherine and Matthew Parker, newcomers to the remote Australian desert town of Nathgari, are flung into crisis when they discover that their two teenage kids, Tommy and Lily, have mysteriously disappeared just before a massive dust storm hits.
- Fille Fatale: Lily Parker is a sexually precocious 15 year old, who enjoys flaunting her body in front of men. And the film does not shy away from the fact that girls who act like this are often the victims of sexual assault, causing her father Matthew to fall under suspicion.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Matthew Parker seems to have anger management issues; more than once violently assaulting someone he suspects of being sexually involved with his daughter. And he is not a Papa Wolf as he actively refuses to join the search for his missing daughter.
- Nightmare Fuel Coloring Book: When Catherine finds Lily's diary she reluctantly reads it. It's irate/angsty with hyper-sexualised imagery and includes pictures and poetry about several people: McPherson, the Parker's mentally handicapped handyman Burtie, and a local youth nicknamed Slug.
- Naked Nutter: Desperate, Catherine visits Rae, and when she fails to seduce him, wanders into the desert night, alone. Unsure why she's hated or has done wrong, she despairs. Next morning, traumatised and stripped naked, she reappears in town; gathering all to gawp.
- One-Word Title
- Primal Scene: Jarrah walks in on his mother Coreen having sex with Rae. Coreen and Rae are way more upset by this than Jarrah is.
- Shower of Angst: Catherine wanders into the desert night, alone. Unsure why she's hated or has done wrong, she despairs. Next morning, traumatised and stripped naked, she reappears in town; gathering all to gawp. Matthew rescues her, then tenderly bathes her.
- Skipping School: After Lilly and Tom disappear, their parents Catherine and Matthew learn they have been skipping school for weeks.
- Teacher/Student Romance: While taking their report, Detective David Rae finds that Lily has once before been reported missing. Catherine and Matthew reluctantly reveal that she merely disappeared for a few days, they panicked and reported, but she soon turned up at a friend's house. After further investigation, Rae learns that one of Lily's Coonaburra teachers, Neil McPherson, had sex with her. When Matthew found out, he beat up McPherson, earning a restraining order. The Parkers admit to Rae that they were forced to leave Coonaburra to escape the attention.