In a small Australian outback town named Limbo, detective Travis Hurley arrives to investigate a 20-year-old unsolved homicide of a young Aboriginal woman, Charlotte Hayes. The desolate region is pocked with caves, opal mines, and dusty unpaved roads. Hurley attempts to interview Charlotte's brother, Charlie, who excavates an opal mine, and her sister, Emma, who waitresses at a local café. Hurley is at first rebuffed by both Charlie and Emma, neither of whom seem inclined to cooperate with the re-opened investigation of their sister's murder. Eventually, they decide to share with Hurley recollections which implicate Joseph, a debilitated elderly white man whose late partner, Leon, threw parties to attract young Black girls to his cave. Though some figures who were witnesses to the parties are now dead, other who continue to live in the area provide enough clues for Hurley to piece together a likely scenario about Charlotte's murder.
Filming began on 19 August 2022 at Coober Pedy in South Australia.[2][6] The film was shot in black and white, partly for technical reasons, but mainly because of the large expanses of white ground at Coober Pedy, which provide a dramatic backdrop. Sen wrote the script based on his experience of the town, with its underground dwellings and unusual culture.[7]
On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes website, the film has an approval rating of 97% based on 33 reviews, with an average rating of 7.8/10.[14] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 76 out of 100 based on 6 reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[15]
Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian rated the film with 4 stars out of 5 and wrote, "It is a tough, muscular film with the grit of crime, but a heartbeat of compassion."[16] David Rooney for The Hollywood Reporter stating that the film is "A riveting, multilayered genre piece", concluded writing, "With its strikingly cinematic locations and Sen’s expressive use of the widescreen frame, Limbo also sneaks up on you, leaving a haunting impression."[17] Guy Lodge reviewing at Berlin Film Festival, for Variety wrote, "This is outback noir — oblique, secretive and as hard-boiled as the ground is hard-baked — and Sen wears it well."[18] Wendy Ide for ScreenDaily wrote in review that the film is "a distinctive work, both visually – the stark black and white photography accentuates the uncanny, almost lunar pockmarks on this scarred terrain – and in terms of its intriguingly detached outback noir storytelling."[19]
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