The Dry brings new life to Victorian town Beulah after drought, fire and a difficult two years
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The Dry was filmed in the Wimmera and Southern Mallee in 2019.
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Beulah, used as a location for film The Dry, plans to capitalise on tourists visiting the area
A number of locals scored roles in the film as extras
Residents are hopeful that more films will be shot in the area
In that time, the town has seen its general store burn down, and a local drought break, received treated drinkable tap water for the first time and made international headlines when occupants of a house in the town flew a flag with Nazi symbolism on it.
Movie review / The Dry (MA) | Canberra CityNews citynews.com.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from citynews.com.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The Dry, starring Eric Bana, matches wide open spaces with uncomfortably close drama. Photograph: Roadshow
Jane Harperâs best-selling novel The Dry is one of those books that feels written with a feature film adaptation in mind: a genre narrative (crime mystery-thriller) thatâs pacey, plot-driven and full of dialogue, with a central location ripe for cinematic imagery. Extensive use of flashbacks is built into its structure, and theyâre even presented in italics as if to say, âThis is where the cuts and scene changes goâ.
Director Robert Connollyâs adaptation is a very gripping and polished film, commandingly performed and directed, with an airtight sense of tonal cohesiveness â despite lots of, well, air in the frame, derived from countless mid- and long-shots capturing barren exterior locations in a fictitious Australian outback town. Written by Connolly and Harry Cripps, the script â lik
MA, 117 minutes
Jane Harperâs outback thrillers are framed around the paradoxical notion that claustrophobia can be at its most acute amid wide, open spaces.
Her characters cluster in small communities where theyâre both sustained and oppressed by their shared histories.
Eric Bana plays a federal police agent who returns to his hometown in The Dry.
Credit:Roadshow
The Dry is the novel that first displayed Harper s talent for mining this theme and Robert Connollyâs film version wastes no time in getting down to it. It was shot in the flatlands of Victoriaâs Wimmera and it begins with an aerial shot of the regionâs drought-stricken plains as a lone car glides along the road into the fictional township of Kiewarra.