THE HUNTER (2011)

[indianasmith]

This was an amazing movie.  I had never heard of it until I saw the trailer playing on the bigscreen  at Hasting's last week, but I am glad I rented it.  Willem Defoe plays the role of Martin David, a bounty hunter hired by a powerful biotech firm to hunt down the last living Thylacine, or Tasmanian Tiger.  Their motives are not environmental or altruistic - they want the creature dead so they can clone its DNA to replicate the powerful venom the Thylacine used to paralyze its prey.  David heads for the remote Tasmanian wilderness, posing as a biologist doing research on the more common Tasmanian Devils.   The company has rented him a room at the home of Lucy Armstrong, the grieving wife of an environmental researcher who disappeared on the mountain the previous year while searching for the tiger.  As the movie progresses, David becomes closer and closer to Lucy and her two children, Sass and Bike.  But he also is drawing closer and closer to his quarry.  But the nearer he gets to the tiger, the less he wants to fulfil his mission.  So the company sends out someone to replace him  . . . .

This was a beautiful film - gorgeous cinematography, brilliant acting, and a very compelling story.  Sam Neill has a great supporting role as Jack Mindy, a local rancher who says he is trying to help Lucy and the kids get by, but whose real motivations are more questionable.  Complex and thought provoking, my only real complaint is that the movie is slow-moving in places.  But the beautiful setting makes up for the long sequences without dialogue.  You really ought to check this one out.

[Archivist]

Thanks for the recommendation.  I saw the trailer on YouTube (all hail youtube) and it did look pretty interesting.  I will check it out when I can.