Nicole Kidman and Guy Pearce Learn the True Meaning of Stranger Danger in ‘Strangerland’

By  · Published on October 21st, 2013

It must be tough, living life in Hollywood as an Australian actor or actress. There will always be that great Pacific gap between work and family, between new life and old, between lush palm trees and an endless parade of lethally venomous snakes and spiders. Strangerland is an opportunity for a few Australians to head back home – specifically, Nicole Kidman, Guy Pearce, and Hugo Weaving, who’ve all been cast in the upcoming film (according to a scoop at Variety).

Strangerland, which is billed as a “mystery drama,” is about a couple who loses their children in the harsh and unforgiving terrain of the Australian Outback. If one were to make a few educated guesses about the cast, one might find it likely that Kidman and Pearce will play the worried parents, while Weaving will play some kind of raving lunatic holding the kids at bay. Or perhaps he’ll be a friendly law enforcement officer. Or the film will go the Cloud Atlas route and have Weaving play a menacing Nurse Ratched-type for some reason.

Director Kim Farrant only has a scant few directing experiences before venturing into Strangerland. She previously helmed the documentary Naked on the Inside (on the subject of body image) and a few episodes of the Oz TV series Rush — Strangerland will be her first feature film. But Kidman starred in 2010’s Rabbit Hole and thus has the whole “terrified and/or mourning mother” thing down pat, which should be of serious help.