Bit of a switch today. This “western” takes place in the outback of
Queensland in modern-day Australia. Its central character is an Aboriginal
police detective (Aaron Pedersen) investigating the murder of an indigenous
girl whose body is found near a highway used by long-haul truckers.
He gets little cooperation, least of all from his sergeant (Tony Barren)
and fellow officers. One of them (Hugo Weaving) seems suspiciously involved in
what amounts to a toxic plague of local criminal activity, including teenage
prostitution and a meth lab.
Pedersen has returned to home turf after a ten-year absence, making
tentative connection with an ex-wife (Tasma Walton) and their daughter (Tricia
Whitton). Neither reveal much interest in reconnecting with him. The ex-wife
is a drinker; the daughter is clearly in harm’s way.
Home turf for Pedersen is a flat, arid landscape that could pass for
West Texas. A drive along the dusty streets of his hometown may take one past
scenes of police officers frisking teenagers spread-eagled against fences and
cars. Animosity by whites toward Aboriginals is undisguised, as when a ’roo
hunter (Ryan Kwanten) greets Pedersen with an icy exchange during a routine
call at the young man’s cabin.
