- Carpenter bomb stuns Guardians as Tigers level series
- Harris, Trump and Biden mark Oct. 7 attacks as US election looms
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street falls
- US judge orders Google to open Android to rival app stores
- On attacks anniversary, Israel fights 'sacred' multi-front war
- Nobel scientist uncovered tiny genetic switches with big potential
- Grammy-winning Cissy Houston, mother of Whitney, dies at 91
- UN biodiversity summit in Colombia aims to turn words into action
- Georgia Supreme Court reinstates six-week abortion ban
- 'Dark day': Victims mourned around the globe on Oct. 7 anniversary
- On attacks anniversary, Israel fights multi-front war
- Mexican mayor murdered days after taking office
- Intensifying to Category 5, Hurricane Milton targets Florida
- Mission to probe smashed asteroid launches despite hurricane
- Biden, Harris mark Oct. 7 with call for Mideast peace
- Dupont set for Toulouse return after post-Olympic holiday
- French rugby bosses tighten discipline after nightmare Argentina tour
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street slips
- Visitors to get rare view of Rome's Trevi Fountain
- Europe's asteroid mission Hera launches despite hurricane
- Man City and Premier League both claim victory in legal case
- Deschamps delight as 'light back on' for Pogba after doping ban
- Biden, Harris urge Mideast peace on Oct. 7 anniversary
- Neeskens, tough midfielder in Cruyff's Ajax and Dutch teams
- UN warns world's water cycle becoming ever more erratic
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street retreats
- Ex-Dutch football star Johan Neeskens dies
- Man Utd battling to improve fortunes, says Evans
- What is microRNA? Nobel-winning discovery explained
- Masood, Abdullah centuries lift Pakistan to 328-4 in first England Test
- Hurricane Milton strengthens fast, threatens Mexico, Florida
- Tunisia's President Saied set for landslide election win
- Barca hoping to return to Camp Nou 'by end of year'
- Trump to open second golf course at Scotland resort in summer 2025
- Super-sub Jhon Duran rewarded with new Aston Villa deal
- US duo win Nobel for gene regulation breakthrough
- Masood hits first ton for four years to power Pakistan to 233-1
- Fritz wins delayed match to reach Shanghai Masters third round
- Naomi Osaka pulls out of Japan Open with back injury
- Weather may delay launch of mission to study deflected asteroid
- China to flesh out economic stimulus plans after bumper rally
- Artist Marina Abramovic hopes first China show offers tech respite
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on US jobs data
- Pakistan 122-1 at lunch in first England Test
- Kazakhs approve plan for first nuclear power plant
- World marks anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- 'Second family': tennis stars hunt winning formula with new coaches
- Philippines, South Korea agree to deepen maritime cooperation
- Mexico mayor murdered days after taking office
- Sardinia's sheep farmers battle bluetongue as climate warms
RBGPF | -1.97% | 58.94 | $ | |
JRI | -0.76% | 13.18 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.53% | 24.57 | $ | |
BCC | 1.68% | 141.27 | $ | |
SCS | -0.15% | 12.95 | $ | |
NGG | -1.56% | 65.48 | $ | |
GSK | -0.49% | 38.63 | $ | |
RIO | -0.11% | 69.62 | $ | |
BTI | -0.26% | 35.2 | $ | |
RYCEF | -1.45% | 6.88 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.09% | 24.79 | $ | |
RELX | -0.54% | 46.04 | $ | |
BCE | -0.54% | 33.53 | $ | |
BP | 0.78% | 33.14 | $ | |
VOD | 0.31% | 9.69 | $ | |
AZN | -0.78% | 76.87 | $ |
'Undeniably unsettling' Aussie cop drama disturbs Cannes
In two of the most intense performances to grip the Cannes Film Festival, award-winning actors Joel Edgerton and Sean Harris face off in a dark undercover cop story from Australia.
"The Stranger" is based on the real-life effort to ensnare a child murderer that takes a terrible toll on the officers charged with ingratiating themselves with the suspect.
Edgerton, known from films such as "Loving", "The Great Gatsby" and TV series "The Underground Railroad", praised the officers who risked their lives and psychological well-being in the case.
"These are all people that we'll never get to meet. I don't even know the real name of the person I'm playing," he told AFP.
"That job has such a weight and takes such a toll," he said.
His target is played by Sean Harris, who has established himself as one of the most visceral presences in cinema -- from the bad guy in the most recent "Mission: Impossible" films to a ruthless killer in "The Borgias" and his BAFTA-winning role in British series "Southcliffe".
Edgerton praised his ability to balance vulnerability with menace.
"There's something about Sean... there's a vibration that's undeniably unsettling and terrifying and that's a rare gift," he said.
Harris credited his year-long preparation for the role for his blistering performance.
"When I got over to Australia, that's when it started to kick in, the intensity -- you turn up the dial. All the work I'd done started to flow through me," he told AFP.
- 'A schizophrenic experience' -
Director Thomas M Wright, also known as an actor in TV series "Top of the Lake", said it was a strange experience presenting such a dark piece of work amid the sunshine, champagne and paparazzi of Cannes.
"It's almost a schizophrenic experience," he said.
"You've gone to this incredibly personal place to make this, it's difficult subject matter, it's left a mark on us.
"And then we're at Cannes, which is like a film you've been watching your whole life and suddenly you're in the middle of it."
Edgerton said it was particularly tricky given that the undercover officers must remain anonymous.
"We get to celebrate ourselves by making a fictional version of a story. These guys will never be celebrated," he said.
"The Stranger", which is playing in the festival's Un Certain Regard section, received a long standing ovation at its premiere on Friday, with critics singling out the central performances.
Wright said he separated Edgerton and Harris -- who knew each other from previous films "The King" and "The Green Knight" -- during filming.
"They were kept completely separate," Wright said. "I wanted them to conduct their research entirely separately.
"We can't actually talk about what that research entailed. We certainly went to some very deep places with the making of this film. It wasn't a film we just walked away from at the end," he added.
Australia has a history of bleak but brilliantly-made true-crime dramas, from "The Snowtown Murders" and "Nitram", to "Animal Kingdom" which also starred Edgerton.
"We're in a landscape that was formed through violence and defined by violence. We can't see it, we don't understand it," said Wright.
"You look at the great Australian artists... there's a darkness there. We're surrounded by an image of sunshine and beaches but it's a complex country."
O.Johnson--AMWN