Australian actor Simon Baker, known for his genial roles in Hollywood, takes an intense twist in 'Limbo', a new Australian film directed by Ivan Sen. The 54-year-old actor, usually seen smiling under a thick mop of sandy hair, delivers a riveting performance with his cropped haircut and tanned, wrinkled features, recorded in sharp black and white.
Baker takes on the character of Travis Hurley, a detective investigating a two-decade-old case in South Australia’s desolate town of 'Limbo'. The town, teeming with private opal mines yet far from flourishing, houses indigenous opal miner Charlie Hayes who self-exiled from his family, and wheezing Joseph, an old white miner with a murky past.
The mystery revolves around the long-ago disappearance of Young Charlotte, Charlie's sister. Emma, another sibling who looks after Charlie’s kids, waits tables at a small café. Hurley's arrival in the town becomes significant and he begins his investigation armed with old cassette tapes and listening to motivational tapes touting Old Testament lore. Under a cool veil of heroin, he starts untangling the mystery.
The unfriendly inhabitants and the town's inherent resentment slow his progress. But as he digs deeper, the town's apathy towards a missing Black girl against the uproar caused by a missing white girl leaves him unsettled.
Despite understanding his role as an initial investigator, the town's sadness and injustice weigh heavily on him, eventually making him press his department to reopen the case.
'Limbo' includes potent performances from Rob Collins as Charlie, an individual rebelling against his own interests, and Natasha Wanganeen as Emma, embodying simmering indignation. The film discards conventional thrillers' allure to focus on societal injustices, making it engaging and disquietingly resonant.
