Review: Eric Bana riveting in Aussie crime drama ‘The Dry’

Aaron is greeted with hostility from some of the longtime residents of Kiewarra. Ellie’s (BeBe Bettencourt) death 20 years age is still an open wound, especially for her father (William Zappa) and brother (Matt Nable). But he soldiers on, working with the very green local cop Greg (Keir O’Donnell) on the investigation. The screenplay does an excellent job of teasing out new leads, many of which are red herrings, while also endearing us to those in this odd little town, like Gretchen (Genevieve O’Reilly), who rounded out the teenage foursome with Aaron, Luke and Ellie. Gretchen, a single mom and schoolteacher now, has her own theories of what happened then. Gerry worries that the presumed murder-suicide could have been prevented had Luke been held accountable for what happened 20 years ago.

“The Dry” also often cuts back to the days surrounding Ellie’s death, adding tension to the present-day investigation as we wonder whether Luke or Aaron did in fact kill the girl, or play any part in her death. Aaron is a somewhat shy teen and Luke is the volatile alpha, which on paper seems like a simple case but on film, you still harbor doubts.

Bana is excellent as the reluctant outsider —determined, haunted and empathetic — and he’s surrounded by ace character actors. There is some much-needed moments of humor, too, especially with the local bar and hotel owner, and even a little romance teased out. It’s not just a grim murder case and is stronger and more human for it.