Hunt for the Wilderpeople - Film Review

  TheBloodyCritique’s ‘Hunt for the Wilderpeople’ Film Review 

Hunt for the Wilderpeople is written and directed by New Zealand film director Taika Waititi whose other work includes the fantastic 2014 mockumentary about vampires What We Do in the Shadows and the recent Thor: Ragnarok which was also great! The film stars Julian Dennison and Sam Neil and it’s based on the book Wild Pork and Watercress by Barry Crump, it’s about a juvenile delinquent Ricky Baker who’s taken by child welfare officers to live with his foster mother Bella and her husband Hec on a remote farm. Bella is warm and loving, Hec is grumpy and distant, A leads to B and a national manhunt ensues to find Ricky and put him back into child services which is the last thing he wants!   

I was a big fan of What We Do in the Shadows and I loved the Thor: Ragnarok as well that’s what brought me to Hunt for the Wilderpeople, I love the comedic tone and self-aware humour of Taika Waititi’s films, the three I’ve seen at least, and I laughed quite a bit throughout this, it’s not quite as consistently funny as What We Do in the Shadows but the story itself takes more of a centre stage here and is a lot more emotionally impactful. It’s beautifully written, I love the witty dialogue and it felt like everything happens for a reason, there are a lot of pays off throughout the film and I appreciate the attention to detail.  

Visually it’s a great looking film and I thought they captured the feeling of being in the wilderness especially scope wise with the sweeping shots from the sky, it felt authentic and it felt personal like we were there with them. I also liked the pacing of the film, it’s broken into chapters which I liked and I felt like all the beats a film should hit were hit perfectly and it leads to a satisfying conclusion. The dialogue is great, especially between Ricky and Hec, it felt realistic and although every other character just sounded like Taika Waititi those two felt authentic, there’s a depth to them, we understand them and we sympathise with them.  

I loved the performances, Julian Dennison was fantastic, I usually hate this sort of kid and this sort of role but I really liked this kid, I don’t think he did anything irritating at all, it’s a great character and Dennison delivered a wonderful performance. Sam Neil was also fantastic, he’s always great and this might be the best role I’ve seen him in next to Chester Campbell in Peaky Blinders. I loved the dynamic between the two of them and I thought they worked extremely well together, it’s a very touching relationship and it never felt forced or corny or cheap, it’s not the main source of comedy here either and it’s a very funny film, it’s a heartfelt story.  

Rima Te Wiata also delivers a great performance and the warmth of her character is captured very well, her chemistry with both Julian Dennison and Sam Neil was great, she was like the heart of the film. Everyone else in the film was great the only thing that stood out to me as a possible negative was the purposefully over the top performance from Rachel House as the child welfare officer, it just felt like a little too much to me, they didn’t need to go quite that far with her character, it was fine up until about the last half an hour but after that it was a little much. That’s the only real criticism I can think of though, and it’s a minor if anything.  

All in all I would definitely recommend Hunt for the Wilderpeople, it’s heartfelt story full of adventure and witty humour, I’d recommend it to both hard core fans and casual fans, it works for both! I’m not sure if I enjoyed it more What We Do in the Shadows but it felt like a more well-rounded film. That’s three in a row for Taika Waititi, I’m a big fan of his style and I’m looking forward to seeing what he does next, I’m also going to check out his other two films Boy and Eagle vs. Shark, I’ll report back with my findings, Hunts for the Wilderpeople was a fantastic film and I’m gonna give it 8.8/10, definitely give it a watch!   

What’s your favourite Taika Waititi film?