The Hunter

Recently I've come to learn the hard, unforgiving, yet understandable truth that our beloved Mr. Dafoe has an incredibly large *. With that said, here's my exaggerated review of his recent film, The Hunter. Dafoe pretends in this movie that he's some type of hunter/mercenary guy who's off to the wilds of Tazmania to hunt down the possibly extinct, Tazmanian Tiger. His goal is to find it, kill it, extract some juicy good stuff, and then dispose of any evidence. Fun! I'm down! Whoa, hold your horses now. You have to wait for the good stuff around these parts. First we have to first wade through the trenches of this southern Australian state that's chock full of melodramatic, cliché ridden, audience toying clap-trap. Say what? It doesn't take long to possibly realize this film may flop more than it flips - and flop it does, belly style. Forget about the lil girl who playfully swears like her dear old Daddy, forget about the amazing listening and drawing abilities of the mute little boy, hell, toss away the predictability of the unfriendly locals ("Bring the children inside. Hurry."), what you should focus most of your attention on is the lackluster screenplay and script. At times during the movie you could assume that the film was some type of dramatic improv session. There were at least a couple WTF moments that instantly make you question what the writers were thinking about. And really, the acting, no matter how understated it tried to be, was rather poor. Leading the way there is Frances O'Connor who bleeds out that she's an actress – she really did bring this movie down a peg with her overly feminine antics and greasy stallion face. I can't blame her entirely I suppose as there were even moments where I thought Mr. Big Dong was acting like a piece of petrified wood - which hurts me to say that. Wilem, the man, who played so many OTT roles so brilliantly, flounders about around Tazmania looking like a dead fish, using those wide-eyes and dead stares to rile up our emotions to no avail. The writing sucked here. Sucked! Shut up! I'm pretty shocked (actually not at all) by the overly positive responses this film is getting. My biggest underlying issue with this film is that it tries to be too many things. Instead of focusing on the exploits of the hunter which are of a more mature and heady theme, the movie juggles bits of charm and light-hearted wishy-washy melodrama. To me it's an obvious attempt by the film-makers to cater to everyone involved. Not only did it not work, it was glaringly noticeable, more so in tone than anything else. You'll probably like the film if you don't know any better, but you should know better. You should know that this movie, this disappointing tale of a hunter with a massive hanging genital should have delivered, and it didn't, because some jerks, whomever they might be, wanted to grease their monkey paws with the hopes of grabbing some more bananas. And again, O'Connor, stick to commercials.

"I wonder if she's the last one. Alone, hunting, killing, waiting to die." With this phrase the director attempt to link the protagonist, Defoe's Hunter, with his prey, the fabled Tasmanian Tiger whose DNA is being sought by a cookie-cutter evil corporation. There have been many landscape based films, and they all fall prey to the same problem - lack of development. While a beautiful country such as Tasmania is a great prop, waving it around is not enough to make a good story, and while The Hunter might have a stunning beginning, the poor development affects it severely; about a third of the film in, we are ready for action, suspense, and that whole bag called "plot-moving- forward", which the writers seem to have forgotten about. Unfortunately nothing really happens that you have not seen in the trailers; what is a solid seven descends into a poor six by the first hour and leaves you with a feeling of having been sold short by a few measures. Cue minimal, uninspired ending and you can leave this in the cheapo bin at Blockbuster. Final vote : 5/10 - great beginning, nothing else; half a film.

There is something pure and truthful about this movie. Of course, it has a story, but the story is just a symbol. The depth behind the story and what it implies is what matters here. A work of art is never entertaining and just served as it is. This work of art explores the relation between the remains of that what is primordial in nature and what is essential in a man. It does not speak to us, but rather shows us instead. Through it's impeccable imagery we can almost sense something primordial in the outbacks of the modern day world. And in that world, as he is also in nature, a man is without direction, until an insight is born. True compass is on the inside. And for that, I applaud the artists.

although the whole movie was beautifully shot with very nice casting job, but i still find it very difficult to categorize the mysterious purposes of making this picture and how to include it in what kind of genre. a thriller? a romantic journey? a retrospection of a distinguished but extinguished animal in tasmania? a humanitarian mission? or what? what i like and appreciate most is the two kids, the talkative sister and her speechless kid brother. the young girl needed to be closely watched for her future acting career in Australian movie industries. she's a natural young talent. dafoe, well, his unique facial structure is like an artistic work of a great modern sculpture artist specialized in granite carving. his images in this film were so artistically portrayed by camera. but the movie itself was, in general, a waste of time and money. a thought-to-be harmless hunting trip turned into murders, arson, bar brawl, local unfriendly thugs harassment. and what's the purpose of killing the last tasmania tiger? why not catch it instead of killing it? what's the real purpose of this whole getting-nothing-and-going-nowhere hunting? it's a very weird screenplay, trying very hard to tell something but ended up telling nothing. this is a very beautiful movie without purpose.

The independent and lonely hunter Martin David (Willem Dafoe) is hired by the powerful biotech company Red Leaf to hunt down the last Tasmanian tiger. Red Leaf is interested in the DNA of the animal and Martin travels to Tasmania alone. He poses of a researcher from a university and is lodged in the house of Lucy Armstrong (Frances O'Connor). Martin leans that Lucy's husband has been missing for a long time and he befriends her children, Sass (Morgana Davies) and Bike (Finn Woodlock). When Martin goes to the village, he has a hostile reception from the locals. Along the days, Martin spends his days in the Tasmanian wilderness chasing the Tiger and becomes closer and closer to the Armstrong family. But Red Leaf wants results no matter the costs. "The Hunter" is a beautiful and dramatic film with an unpredictable and sad plot. The Tasmania landscape is certainly the great attraction of film that is supported by a good story, two lovely children (Morgana Davies and Finn Woodlock) and the excellent Willem Dafoe. It is also great to see again Frances O'Connor, who had disappeared from the "big screen". My vote is seven. Title (Brazil): O Caçador" "The Hunter")

A biotech research company hires a mercenary named Martin (Willem Dafoe) to hunt down the Tasmanian tiger in the Australian bushland. He finds the territory extremely hostile because the loggers in the area are afraid that environmentalists will endanger their work. Martin takes refuge with a family, including Lucy (Frances O'Connor), who takes sleeping pills and her two small children, one of whom does not speak. Their house is a shambles because they are reeling from the disappearance of Lucy's husband, who went missing while looking for the tiger himself. With the help of some drawings from one of the kids, Martin travels back and forth to the bush, trying to bait the tiger. Yet the ambiguity surrounding Jack (Sam Neill), a fellow bushman, lends a sense of unease to Martin's expedition. The Hunter is like a safari trip with no wildlife in sight. It is based on a novel by Julia Leigh. She wrote and directed Sleeping Beauty earlier this year. If she had adapted her own novel this might have been a more accomplished film, not just because of her formal sophistication, but her understanding of her own story too. What's missing here is clarity and a strong narrative premise. The film is sketchy with plot details because we know so little about the research company or Martin himself. Without this foundation of exposition the twists in the narrative and Martin's eventual attachment to the family make little sense. There are superfluous characters too. The motives of Sam Neil's character are achingly unclear. What we initially assume about Jack doesn't eventuate and then his surprise alignment is never explained. His part is so superfluous that it could have really been played by anyone or cut altogether. I was disappointed that he was wasted in this film. Compounding these narrative issues is the lack of real conflict and drama. Apart from an improbable climax, the film is dull. We rarely feel the weight of the terrain overcoming Martin. There are also far too many scenes of him driving aimlessly, coupled with moments of trap making and the domestic scenes, which don't satisfy. Director Daniel Nettheim tries to rectify the lack of tension through the inclusion of the territorial loggers. But their representation and characterisation is laughable. They act more like a group of evil bikies, terrorising people by flashing their headlights and firing rifles in the air. This needed to be handled with a lot more subtlety and to have the tension build under the surface. At the very least, the film has some conceptually interesting ideas, including the way that groups of men mark their territory. Both the loggers and Martin resort to primitive methods, like intimidation and hunting and gathering, to determine their grounds. The film also holds a natural beauty that is immensely impressive. None of the Australian landscapes have been stylised because they don't need to be. The focus on the lush greenery of the bushland is solely magnificent. These are some of the more impressive elements of The Hunter, which individually, point to a more complete thriller. Yet like so many Australian films, the script needed more refinement and a lot less driving.

I absolutely LOVED this movie all the way through until the last fifteen-or-so minutes. That killed it for me. Dead. Like an elegant, visual opera interspersed with many subtle emotions that are raw, clear, undefined and believably contradictory. Weaving a deeply satisfying tapestry of scenery, humor, characters, and all their differences, joys and sadness. Brilliantly shot as well in every respect. Yet, to me, the ending was SO extraordinarily unnecessary as to be tritely cynical. It basically ruined the feel of the entire movie viewing those final scenes. I 'get' the point of it having watched many, many British and Australian films. I just feel that the climax was ugly, unkempt, rushed, and offered only an empty cliché with no defined exit or sense of renewal emotionally. I simply can not rate this film because of certain creative disappointments, and though I have no intention to watch it ever again, I would indeed recommend it.

Opening (coincidentally) during the San Francisco International Film Festival, "The Hunter" would fit right in among the 175 films being shown there. This Australian film, filmed mostly in Tasmania, stars the great character actor Willem Dafoe (in a rare leading role) as Martin David, the title character. David is engaged by a multinational corporation to track down the last surviving "Tasmanian Tiger" so that they may have exclusive rights to its DNA. David must do this under the noses of environmentalists trying to stop deforestation and the locals whose jobs and livelihoods rely on it. Masquerading as a scientist doing research, Martin finds himself quartered at the house of a local activist's widow (Frances O'Connor) and her two children (Morgana Davies and Finn Woodlock.) Slowly, he finds himself entwined in their lives and finds a disturbing connection between his current employer and the late activist. Martin's contact in the community (Sam Neill) is wary of their growing relationship and sets things in motion that will have a devastating impact on all involved. This is a beautiful, exciting film with nuanced performances from all the players. Dafoe's character doesn't say much, but his cragged face is as expressive a tool as his voice. Lengthy scenes are often dialogue-free, letting the surroundings and Martin's actions speak for themselves in a visual language. The juvenile performers are quite good, and Sam Neill is a welcome presence in any film. Part character study, part eco-thriller, the film does not beat you over the head with its environmental message. It manages to present somewhat of a balanced view of the debate between economy and environment (at least with regards to the problems of the locals. Multinational Corporations are ALWAYS evil.) PETA may take exception to Martin's final actions with regards to his original assignment, but after some thought they might be hard pressed to come up with any better solution. It's the kind of film that leads to great discussion and debate afterwards. www.worstshowontheweb.com

The Hunter speaks of humanity left in a cruel man who was sent on a different mission. This time he is to hunt down an endangered animal and then he comes in touch with a wonderful family with kids where he finds his softness in heart. Film rather starts and moves bit slow but it just gives the total freedom for the viewer to wonder about. The plot is unique and I'm sure I have not come across anything similar before. The landscapes are amazingly beautiful and the story line keeps you going. I like Dafoes performance on this. And the sweet little kids. Visit flickshout.tk

Amazing, great acting, Willem Defoe is sublime, great cinematography, emotional story, this is a must see. There's a lot of rubbish films these days, I like to watch American TV series as they have huge budgets and have time to develop story lines so things are more satisfying. I think that film making is a saturated market, and most things have been done to death, but it's rare that I see a film that has a clear vision and aim and produces such fantastic results. Willem Defoe has to be one of the greatest American actors alive today, his performance in this film is understated and powerful. There is a sub narrative that is very touching and emotional and very powerful and had me close to tears. I think this is an enigmatic film and really enjoyed seeing Sam Neil playing a part which was so unexpected considering his past performances. A fantastic film for cinema buffs.