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Mystery Road

Mystery Road

Thriller · Crime · Drama · 2013

A murdered girl is found under a bridge on a remote road and indigenous detective Jay Swan gets the case. Jay finds that no-one is that interested in solving the murder of an indigenous teenager and he is forced to work alone.

Movie details

Mystery Road

“Some roads lead to murder”

2013 Thriller · Crime · Drama 2h 1m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

6.6 / 10

8.9K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

91 %

Tomatometer

Metacritic

72 / 100

Metascore

TMDB

6.2 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

A murdered girl is found under a bridge on a remote road and indigenous detective Jay Swan gets the case. Jay finds that no-one is that interested in solving the murder of an indigenous teenager and he is forced to work alone.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Mystery Road?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Crime · 2010

Joshua “J” is taken in by his extended family after his mother dies of an overdose. The clan, ruled by J’s scheming grandmother, is heavily involved in criminal activities, and J is soon indoctrinated into their way of life. But J is given a chance to take another path when a cop seeks to help him.

The Nightingale

The Nightingale

Drama · 2018

In 1825, Clare, a 21-year-old Irish convict, chases a British soldier through the rugged Tasmanian wilderness, bent on revenge for a terrible act of violence he committed against her family. She enlists the services of an Aboriginal tracker who is also marked by trauma from his own violence-filled past.

Snowtown

Snowtown

Crime · 2011

Based on true events, 16 year-old Jamie falls in with his mother's new boyfriend and his crowd of self-appointed neighborhood watchmen, a relationship that leads to a spree of torture and murder.

The Proposition

The Proposition

Western · 2005

In 1880s Australia, a lawman offers renegade Charlie Burns a difficult choice. In order to save his younger brother from the gallows, Charlie must hunt down and kill his older brother, who is wanted for rape and murder. Venturing into one of the Outback's most inhospitable regions, Charlie faces a terrible moral dilemma that can end only in violence.

Wind River

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Crime · 2017

An FBI agent teams with the town's veteran game tracker to investigate a murder that occurred on a Native American reservation.

Shimmer Lake

Shimmer Lake

Thriller · 2017

Shot in reverse day-by-day through a week—a local sheriff embarks on a quest to unlock the mystery of three small-town criminals and a bank heist gone wrong.

Thieves Highway

Thieves Highway

Crime · 2025

After discovering a plot to haul stolen cattle in the middle of nowhere, a desperate and isolated lawman becomes the only thing standing between a group of dangerous rustlers and a clear run to the border.

Crooked House

Crooked House

Mystery · 2017

A private investigator helps a former flame solve the murder of her wealthy grandfather, who lived in a sprawling estate surrounded by his idiosyncratic family.

Where it lives

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Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Ivan Sen

Written by

Ivan Sen

Aaron Pedersen

Aaron Pedersen

Det. Jay Swan

Hugo Weaving

Hugo Weaving

Johnno

Jack Thompson

Jack Thompson

Charlie Murray

Ryan Kwanten

Ryan Kwanten

Pete Barry; William Smith

Tony Barry

Tony Barry

Sarge

Bruce Spence

Bruce Spence

Jim

Damian Walshe-Howling

Damian Walshe-Howling

Wayne Silverman

Court is in session

Put Mystery Road on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Auteur Devotee

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.