Force of Nature: The Dry 2

Last updated

Force of Nature: The Dry 2
Force of nature the dry two.jpg
Theatrical release poster with original release date
Directed by Robert Connolly
Screenplay byRobert Connolly
Based on Force of Nature
by Jane Harper
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyAndrew Commis
Edited by
  • Alexandre De Franceschi
  • Maria Papoutsis
Music by Peter Raeburn
Production
companies
Distributed by Roadshow Films
Release dates
  • 21 January 2024 (2024-01-21)(Melbourne)
  • 8 February 2024 (2024-02-08)(Australia)
Running time
112 minutes
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
Box office$5.8 million [1]

Force of Nature: The Dry 2 (titled on-screen as simply Force of Nature) is a 2024 Australian mystery thriller film written and directed by Robert Connolly. [2] The film is a sequel to the 2020 film The Dry [3] and is based on the 2017 novel Force of Nature by Jane Harper. [4] It stars Eric Bana, reprising his role as Aaron Falk, alongside Anna Torv, Deborra-Lee Furness, Robin McLeavy, Sisi Stringer, Lucy Ansell, Jacqueline McKenzie, Tony Briggs, Jeremy Lindsay Taylor and Richard Roxburgh.

Contents

The film had its premiere in Melbourne on 21 January 2024. It was released in Australia by Roadshow Films on 8 February 2024.

Plot

Federal police detectives Aaron Falk and Carmen Cooper investigate money laundering facilitated by Daniel Bailey at his firm, Bailey Tennants Finances. They coerce employee Alice Russell to obtain evidence, in return for immunity for her previous embezzlement from the firm.

Alice attends a corporate hiking retreat in the fictional Victorian Giralang Ranges with four other employees: her boss and Daniel's wife Jill, childhood friend Lauren, and sisters Brianna "Bree" and Bethany "Beth". Three days later, Falk receives an incomprehensible call from Alice. He then learns that only Jill, Lauren, Beth and a spider-bitten Bree have emerged from the wilderness; Alice is missing.

In flashbacks, it is revealed that Falk’s mother also disappeared from the same area during a family hiking trip in his childhood. After searching for several days, Falk and his father found her mortally injured.

Falk questions Alice's hiking partners. They recount how during the hike, the group had become lost. A fight over their only map then caused it to fall into a river. Without the map, the group disagreed over which direction to proceed. Alice intentionally misdirected the group against the consensus opinion, causing further tension. The next day, the group discovered an abandoned cabin. Alice suggested this could have been the base of a notorious serial killer active in the area several decades prior. However, the group dismissed her concerns and voted to spend the night there, where another fight ensued. The next morning, the group was awoken by Bree's cries of pain from a spider bite. Finding Alice missing, they proceeded without her and were rescued from the wilderness.

Using details from their accounts, Falk locates the cabin and finds Alice's corpse a short distance away. However, he also notices next to the corpse a log with a broken spider's web, suggesting Bree had been there. Confronted by Falk, Bree confesses she had stumbled upon Alice's corpse on the morning of her disappearance. Believing Beth was the killer, Bree hid the corpse to protect Beth, who is on probation and cannot afford further legal issues. Bree sustained her spider bite while hiding the corpse.

Falk then notices Lauren and Alice’s respective daughters bickering nearby. Upon confronting Lauren, she confesses that on the morning of her disapperance, Lauren had stumbled on Alice leaving and attempting to call Falk . An argument over Alice's parenting and bullying behaviour escalated to a fight, in which Alice suffered a fatal headstrike. Believing the injury to be mild, Lauren returned to the cabin, leaving Alice's corpse to be discovered later by Bree.

As Bree and Lauren are escorted away by police, Beth reveals to Falk that before departing for the retreat, she witnessed Alice successfully upload crucial evidence against Daniel onto a USB drive, which Alice had brought to the retreat. Beth had noticed Alice hide the drive, which Beth recovered. She hands the drive to Falk for use in his investigation against Daniel.

Cast

Production

A sequel to The Dry , based on Jane Harper's 2017 follow-up novel Force of Nature, was announced to be in production in 2022, with principal photography having begun in Victoria in May 2022. Robert Connolly was set to return to direct and Eric Bana would reprise his role as Aaron Falk. [4]

The story was situated in the fictional Giralang Ranges, but the film was shot in Victoria's Otway Ranges, the Dandenongs and Yarra Valley. [6]

In September 2022, it was announced that IFC Films acquired North American distribution rights to the film (after also distributing the first film). [2]

Release

Force of Nature premiered in Melbourne on 21 January 2024. [7]

The film was originally set to be released in Australia on 24 August 2023, [3] [5] but the release was postponed with no new release date set, in solidarity with the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike in the United States, which would have affected the film's promotion. [8] It was eventually released on 8 February 2024 in Australia. [9]

Reception

The film has a 65% approval rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 46 reviews, with an average rating of 6.1/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Generally absorbing from moment to moment despite uneven pacing and a rather convoluted mystery, Force of Nature: The Dry 2 should satisfy fans of the first installment while setting up the third." [10] On Metacritic, the film holds a weighted average score of 58 out of 100 based on seven critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [11]

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References

  1. "Force of Nature: The Dry 2". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 8 April 2024. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 Vlessing, Etan (9 September 2022). "IFC Films Nabs Eric Bana Crime Thriller 'Force of Nature' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  3. 1 2 Kelly, Vivienne (21 March 2023). "'Force of Nature: The Dry 2' to Hit Cinemas in August". Variety. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Frater, Patrick (17 May 2022). "Eric Bana and Robert Connolly Reunite for 'Force of Nature,' Following Australian Hit Film 'The Dry'". Variety. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  5. 1 2 Mangioni, Sam (9 May 2023). "Eric Bana Faces the Force of Nature in Thrilling Trailer for 'The Dry 2'". Man of Many. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  6. "If corporate team-building exercises aren't enough of a nightmare, what happens when someone disappears into the forest on one?". ABC News. 15 February 2024. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  7. Village Cinemas [@villagecinemas] (9 December 2023). "Join us on Sunday, 21st January 2024, for the World Premiere of Force of Nature: The Dry 2 exclusively at Village Cinemas Rivioli" . Retrieved 11 February 2024 via Instagram.
  8. Kelly, Vivienne (19 July 2023). "'Force of Nature: The Dry 2' Release Date Pushed Back in Australia". Variety. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  9. Ward, Sarah (9 October 2023). "'Force of Nature: The Dry 2' Will Get Eric Bana Solving Mysteries Again in Cinemas Down Under in February". Concrete Playground. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  10. "Force of Nature: The Dry 2". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media . Retrieved 13 May 2024.
  11. "Force of Nature: The Dry 2". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 13 May 2024.