Synopsis
In 1825, Clare, a 21-year-old Irish convict, chases a British soldier through the rugged Tasmanian wilderness, bent on revenge for a terrible act of violence he committed against her family. She enlists the services of an Aboriginal tracker who is also marked by trauma from his own violence-filled past.
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Cast
- Aisling FranciosiClare
- Sam ClaflinHawkins
- Baykali GanambarrBilly
- Damon HerrimanRuse
- Harry GreenwoodJago
- Ewen LeslieGoodwin
- Charlie ShotwellEddie
- Michael SheasbyAidan
- Matthew SunderlandDavey
- Magnolia MaymuruLowanna
Recommendations
- 91
The Film Stage
It is as compelling and urgent as it is impossible to stomach. - 91
The A.V. Club
There’s a tragic, moving resonance to the film’s vision of two marginalized characters—one Black, the other a woman, both stripped of everything—finding common ground in their parallel trauma and resistance. It’s there in the scenes between Franciosi and first-time actor Ganambarr, forging empathy and a mutual respect in the fire of survival, without a hint of bathetic sentimentality. - 90
Variety
Kent’s elemental revenge tale attains a near-mythic grandeur over the course of its arduous, ravishing trek. Some stricter editing wouldn’t go amiss, particularly in a needlessly baggy, to-and-fro finale, but it’s a pretty magnificent mass of movie. - 90
Los Angeles Times
This is a profound and difficult film, an attempt to grapple with the existence and mindless perpetuation of evil, and to suggest both the fleeting satisfaction and the eternal futility of vengeance. Nothing about it is easy, and everything it shows us matters. - 83
IndieWire
Acclaimed filmmakers often face the challenge of big expectations on their second features, but Kent joins the ranks of sophomore filmmakers whose new movies expand on their debuts in startlingly ambitious ways. - 83
The Playlist
With all this evocative material available it’s unfortunate that Kent lavishes so much of the overgenerous runtime on repetitive and redundant plotting. - 60
CineVue
As the film drifts through dream sequences and diversions, the dramatic power of the chase fizzles in the damp of the woods. - 60
The Guardian
Weaving themes of colonialism and class into the broad strokes of a won’t-stop-can’t-stop revenge potboiler, the film marks a step forward for the Australian director in terms of ambition and scope. In execution, however, the songbird hits a few false notes.
