Film Pick of the Week: Hunt for the Wilderpeople - review by Yvette Huddleston
Hunt for the Wilderpeople Prime Video, review by Yvette Huddleston
Sam Neill, who died last month, stars in this beautiful family movie from 2016 that is a fine example of the late actor’s wide range and versatility and the warmth and compassion that shone through many of his best known performances.
Here he plays grumpy smallholder Hector who lives on a remote farm on New Zealand’s North Island with his kindhearted wife Bella (Rima Te Wiata). As foster carers, the couple take on troubled young pre-teen Ricky Baker (Julian Dennison) who has been in and out of the care system all his young life. He has frequently been runaway and often in trouble, sometimes with the law. He settles well with Hector and Bella, and becomes especially close to his foster mother. When Bella dies suddenly and unexpectedly of a stroke, the authorities inform Hector that Ricky will be taken back into the care system. Ricky’s support worker Paula (Rachel House) does not seem as supportive as she might be and regards him as a bit of a troublemaker.
Determined not to go back into the care system, Ricky decides to fake his own death, accidentally setting fire to Hector’s shed in the process, and runs off into the bush. Hector follows after him - he has not bonded with the boy in the same way that Bella did, but he doesn’t wish him ill and is certainly not about to allow state registered bullies to pick on him. Hector is also a very competent bushman and hunter and he knows that without him, Ricky might struggle to survive. He finds the boy, but twists his ankle badly running after him and the pair are forced to hide out for a while until it heals. In the meantime, Paula has decided that Hector has kidnapped Ricky and informed the media, sparking a nationwide manhunt.
The jeopardy is now high and they are on the run, two outsiders against the world. The pair begin to get to know each other better and a close relationship develops between them, although neither is willing to admit this. Writer-director Taika Waititi, who adapted the screenplay from Barry Crump’s 1986 novel Wild Port and Watercress, never allows the narrative to drift into sentimentality and allows the lovely chemistry between Neill and Dennison to do its magic. This quirky, often funny and ultimately very affecting film is full of warmth and wisdom; it’s a high point in Neill’s considerable legacy.