Gone

‘The Beach’ goes walkabout in this slow-burning psychological thriller set in the Australian outback. British backpacker Alex (Shaun Evans) and his posh girlfriend Sophie (Amelia Warner) discover that hell is other people when they accept a lift from handsome American Taylor (Scott Mechlowicz).

Like the Polaroid photos Taylor takes of everyone he meets, his chameleon-like character only slowly comes into focus as his insidious mind games reveal him to be a manipulative sociopath. Obsessed with an incriminating snap taken earlier by Taylor, Alex succumbs to jealousy and escalating paranoia. Sophie is smarter and tougher, but blindsided by her concern for Alex – and an incipient sexual attraction to Taylor – she fails to heed the warning signs…

Working from a script by James ‘My Little Eye’ Watkins and Cate Blanchett’s husband Andrew Upton, first-time director Ringan Ledwidge makes effective use of both claustrophobic interiors and stark landscapes: whether the characters are trapped in the sweaty confines of the car or framed against big skies, we share their growing sense of separation. Gone but not forgotten.