Netflix acquires Cannes title 'The Stranger', sets for Oct release

LOS ANGELES: Streaming service Netflix has acquired filmmaker Thomas M Wright's thriller film ''The Stranger'' for release on its platform.

Starring Joel Edgerton and Sean Harris in the lead, the movie will have a theatrical release in Australia, before launching on Netflix worldwide in October, excluding territories like Italy, Benelux, Portugal, Greece, Israel and the Middle East, the streaming service said in a statement.

The film, which had its world premiere at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, revolves around two strangers who strike up a conversation on a long journey.

One, a suspect in an unsolved missing person's case; the other, an undercover operative on his trail.

Their uneasy friendship is at the core of this tightly wrought thriller, based on the true story of one of the largest investigations and undercover operations in Australia, as per the official plotline.

"With The Stranger, I wanted to make a psychological crime film that took audiences into a place that is hidden — a film that was authentic and realistic in its detail, but also immersive and cinematic. A film that demanded attention and investment. A film that an audience could lean into — and fall into,'' Wright said.

"I centered the film on people who didn't know the victim, but who devoted years of their lives – and their mental and physical health – to them; because though violence is the reason for this film, it is not its subject. Its subject is the connections between people. That means that, for me, this is a film defined by empathy,'' he added.

''The Stranger'' is produced by See-Saw Films, Anonymous Content and Blue Tongue Films.