Alyssa Black (Aly200) This little known Australian-American film has pretty much flown under the radar which is a shame as "The Hunter" is a good film that deserves a wider audience. The plot follows a hired gun (pun intended), Martin David, who is sent by a mysterious university to track down and gather evidence of the supposedly extinct Tasmanian tiger. Martin heads off to rural Tasmania where he boards with a young mother and her two children, who happen to be awaiting the overdue return of the family patriarch (a plot element that plays a key part later in the film) and begins his task. However things soon become suspicious as the locals seem determined to drive the American guest out of Australia and the mission Martin is on becomes a question of why is he really there?In the lead role of Martin is the always reliable Willem Dafoe. The actor brings a quiet reserve to the titular hunter as Martin is methodical and tactful in his modus operandi for tracking the Tasmanian tiger. However Dafoe brings out his soft side with the child actors playing the rambunctious Katie (self nicknamed 'Sass') and the silent Jaime though initially Martin is hesitant to allow the kids to be around him as he is focused on his mission. However as the narrative goes on and Martin gets to know lonely, but loving mother Lucy (Frances O'Connor) and the children, the kinder side of Martin's personality gives the film a touching and heartwarming angle to combat the more somber tones. While the film has a bittersweet climax, the final shot of Dafoe's Martin embracing the surviving son, Jaime, brings a tear to the eye after we learn the tragic fate of the rest of the family and can only wonder how these two lost souls will fare now.Shot on location in Tasmania, the landscapes are breathtaking and also have a hauntingly lonely quality. The mountainous terrain that Willem Dafoe's Martin traverses is treacherous, but abundant in lush forestry. The sun is rarely captured on-camera, overcast clouds pervade the sky adding to the film's somber mood as we journey onward with Martin. The color palette is also quite monotonous, but laden with vibrant colors like the green leaves of the trees as well as the grass to the brown exterior of Lucy's house to low candle- lighting in the evening at the house or the bright decorations made by the children. The richness of bright color is used sparingly for the lighter scenes in the film while the darker palettes are used for the film's scenes that follow Martin on his quest in the mountains.I think this is a film that will appeal to anyone. It's a bit serious, but does contain some heartfelt moments for the sentimental viewers.

ncstebb-00587 I just stumbled onto this in a streaming service I subscribe to and I have to say I loved it. I've never reviewed a movie before but I feel compelled to do in this case because of how much I loved it and because the discussions I've read on it make me think that the movie has been misunderstood and underrated.Firstly I really like the slow burning character driven nature of the move. The name of the movie tells it all, it's about Defoe's character, not the company, not the conspiracy, not the toxin or the tiger. It's not a movie that is trying to be too clever either. It gives us hints about what could be going on but it doesn't spell it all out, because the details aren't important and the viewer can fill them in or simply wonder about them as they like.Mild spoilers follow...I've worked in Tasmania as a geologist and I think the snippets of tension between environmentalists and forestry (and other) workers, is really accurate. The beauty of the landscape isn't fully captured either, but I think this is intentional as the starkness of the presentation is in keeping with the tone of the film and reflects the nature of Defoe's character. I once had a very similar experience to one depicted in the film, I was doing field work in the Kimberley, Western Australia for a university and some workers on the massive cattle station we were in came to our campsite at night and fired a shot over our tents. So the fear and animosity depicted between scientists and workers is real and accurate.Bigger spoilers to follow....I loved Sam Neil's character, I thought he was really authentic as the local whose knowledge of the area and its people were useful to the company. He seemed to be looking for some affirmation first as a useful guide and also as the one looking after Lucy's family (I doubt he was aware of how drugging Lucy contributed to the objectives of the company, perhaps for him it just helped maintain his position of importance to the family). Like I said before, the details probably weren't critical to the story being told.Defoe's character too was excellent. Not the one dimensional tough guy hit man of your action movies, he liked to take a bath and took time to clean the bath in Lucy's home so he could use it. I thought the solitary nature of his character was something he worked to maintain because it was an occupational necessity. I thought the scene where he was about to go on a picnic with the family was significant. He felt for the family and was angry that the company had (almost certainly) brought about so much suffering for them in pursuing its goals, but critically at this stage he had still covered up the murder and was willing to steel himself against the hurt he would cause them by abandoning the picnic in order to get on with his job. But then came the death of Lucy and her daughter and the attempt on his own life. At this stage I was glued to my seat, waiting to see how he would react. It was well set up with his last conversation with Jack Minty (Neil), when he said that the company would keep sending hunters until they got what they wanted. The ending was well executed, for a moment we thought he might spare the tiger (as our inner greenies wanted him to), then we thought he'd reverted to type and finished his job. But the final scene made it clear... To massively over simplify the complex motivations of the character, his anger at what had been done to the boy grew too large and he committed an act of vengeance against the company.I found the ending very satisfying and powerful and the story and characters well developed and meaningful. Perhaps there were a few small holes in the presentation, the moments of action, but these are what you expect from a film focused on telling a story with a minimal budget and for me it's silly to consider them as detracting from what is, overall, a superb film.

Teri Peterson I found this to be an very original and unique role for Mr. Dafoe. His performance was strong and poignant. Little dialogue but heavy in emotion, tension and suspense. I had never seen or heard of this movie until I watched on Cinemax in 2016. I have spent quite a bit of time in Tasmania and found the movie really captured the beauty and isolation of the region. They captured the expanse and feeling I had whilst hiking in the Cable Mountains including the overcast and sometimes desolate feeling of the wilderness. Willam Dafoe can carry any movie but is often portrayed as the villain within a group or single combatant and I found this to represent an interesting juxtaposition within a single character and superb acting.

Brian Roesch No..., not a love story but rather a nature story. Brokeback Mountain holds the best nature filming by far. I wasn't interested in neither story but I love the nature scenes of both these films. The story could have been different like a hunter following a lost friend's will to find this extinct animal and perhaps ending the film with photography evidence. Killing something doesn't work. The film could have used a little more action. Did the hunter kill seals, polar bears or any type of marine animals? Always think of a possible sequel to a story; therefore you'll have a great film to begin with. Has the hunter ever killed a man before? He seems to have no regret for killing his hostage taker. The end seems like the hunter tossed in the towel on hunting.