Peter Debruge Chief Film CriticWho knew that police sting operations did — or even could — work like the one seen in “The Stranger”?
Based on the extensive Mr. Big ruse that brought a notorious Australian kidnapper to justice, this eerie, understated thriller draws the audience into the same deception used to ensnare the culprit, focusing on psychology more than procedure in its entrancing account of a most unusual criminal investigation.
The case echoes Denis Villeneuve’s “Prisoners” at times, minus the twisted genre-movie payoff, which will limit commercial prospects beyond Oz shores.With a tortured performance by producer-star Joel Edgerton at its core, this second feature from gifted actor-turned-helmer Thomas M.
Wright is as much about befriending the devil as his terrific 2018 debut, “Acute Misfortune,” was. (That film re-created the moth-to-flame portrait of a self-destructive bad-boy artist by an easily manipulated young journalist.
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