Hunt for the Wilderpeople

Starring: Sam Neill, Julian Dennison, Rima Te Wiata, Rachel House, Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne, Oscar Kightley
Directed by: Taika Waititi
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Drama
2016

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A boy (Julian Dennison) and his foster father (Sam Neill) go missing in the wilderness and a manhunt ensues, as the police believe the boy was kidnapped.

Review:

Tim: Hunt for the Wilderpeople is a small, delightful movie out of New Zealand. It's the kind of film that could have easily been lost in the shuffle of the 600+ movies that come out every year. Luckily, director Taika Waititi manages to tell an enjoyable, memorable story that helped this little film stand out.

The story is kind of a crazy one. A lonely orphan wanna-be gangsta is adopted by foster parents. The foster father wants nothing to do with him, but after a series of events, eventually is on the run with him through the wilderness from the police, who believe he has kidnapped and may be assaulting the boy. The two go on the run and evade capture for months. That quick synopsis should make you shake your head a bit. What is this movie about again? It's an original, quirky story and it was a lot of fun to watch unfold on screen.

What really makes this film special are the performances of its two very different leads. Sam Neill is an actor I've really liked for a long, long time (back to the original Jurassic Park). The guy is just an accomplished actor and it's always fun to see him on screen. He's really good in this role. He's grumpy, world weary, and very funny. Yes, there are moments where his performance felt forced, but for the most part, he really delivers. I also enjoyed the remarkable performance of young Julian Dennison. He brings so much energy and youthful abandon to this role. It's the kind of role where he was perfectly cast for this exact moment in time. He's great fun on screen and it's a true pleasure to watch Neill and Dennison interact. They have so many hilarious exchanges. Rima Te Wiata uses her short screen time to amazing effect, truly adding to the film in major ways. I loved her performance. The rest of the cast was okay, but for one reason or another, most of them overacted. Rachel House wasn't funny, but gave a way too over-the-top performance. She had a few decent moments but generally made the film worse. That can be said for more than one supporting cast member. Luckily, Neill and Dennison more than make up for it- it's just so much fun seeing them on screen together.

This movie tells an adventure story, but it's surprisingly deep. The movie really comments on what it means to be a family and digs deep into some powerful themes about identity and individuality. It made you think about life and what it means to overcome the obstacles put in front of you. I thoroughly appreciated the deeper exploration of themes that this film offered. Luckily, it also manages to entertain throughout its 1 hour, 41 minute run time.

Now, the film does have some flaws. There's just too much in this film that seems absurd and too far-fetched. The movie needed a little more restraint. There was a way to tell a comedic story while still telling a believable one. It felt like this movie sacrificed some believability for laughs, but the laughs generated from that were never all that good anyway. It needed to be slightly more restrained, slightly more logical.

Despite a few flaws, Hunt for the Wilderpeople proved to be a far stronger movie than I would have thought possible. It's entertaining, fun, and different. It's a small movie that most Americans probably haven't heard of, but it is well worth tracking down

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: What We Do In the Shadows, Captain Fantastic, Little Miss Sunshine