On DVD and Blu-Ray - The Hunter - Willem Dafoe portrays a professional hunter hired by a ruthless BioTech Corporation to track down and kill the last Tasmanian Tiger for it's priceless DNA in this intelligent, skillfully directed and gorgeously filmed Eco-Thriller/Mystery/Character Study. The on-location cinematography in the Tasmanian wild, which is plentiful here, is often breathtakingly beautiful- those with an appreciation for natural scenery should be highly pleased.
Dafoe's character, masquerading as a scientist, lodges with the devastated wife (Frances O'Connor) and children (Finn Woodlock and Morgana Davies) of a missing activist who last sighted the supposedly extinct creature. The Hunter slowly finds himself falling for the small family and becoming conflicted with the nature of his mission. Dafoe gives a fine performance in a rare leading role- without a substantial amount of dialogue, the veteran actor expertly exhibits that rare talent of conveying a full range of emotions with only a subtle movement of his lean, weathered face. It's a shame he doesn't garner more leading roles in higher-profile releases.
Frances O'Connor (A.I.) reminds me of a younger, albeit prettier, version of Barbara Hershey- checking her filmography, she's a criminally underused actress with no good reason for that. Sam Neill (Dead Calm, Jurassic Park) makes a few, brief appearances as a friend of the family with an ulterior motive.
The film's highly-realistic approach, sparse dialogue and deliberate pace may not be for all tastes- there's only one scene featuring a small amount of CGI, with only a few shots fired throughout and one onscreen death (human, that is)- I enjoyed it's attention to detail, it's apparent, deftly-conveyed themes of loneliness and seclusion and found myself glad that a film of this nature was even made. It's a highly recommended gem, featuring one of the more poignant, emotional endings that I've seen in a while. I'm confident that this film will remain near the very top of my Favorite Films of 2012 list.
9 out of 10
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