After a 15-year absence, Christian (Schneider) returns home to rural New South Wales for the marriage of his father, Henry (Rush), the wealthy owner of the local mill that’s been the economic bedrock of the community for generations. Christian gets reacquainted with his old friend Oliver and finds himself drawn to Oliver’s family, which includes wife Charlotte (Miranda Otto), daughter Hedvig, and father-in-law Walter (Sam Neill).
When Henry announces the imminent closure of the mill, it sends a quake through the community, particularly Oliver’s family, and the subsequent fissures release bitter secrets. Simon Stone’s contemporary adaptation of Ibsen’s The Wild Duck is a tension-ridden family drama that offers a fresh take on the prodigal son theme. Impressively performed, the sense of dysfunction is heightened by a brooding score and cinematographer Andrew Commis’s hand-held camera.