Jindabyne

On an annual fishing trip in the high country, four men — Stewart Gabriel Byrne, Carl John Howard, Rocco Stelios Yiakmis, and Billy — stumble upon a girl’s body in the river. The victim, later revealed to be Aboriginal, has been murdered by Gregory, a local electrician. The discovery shocks the men and sows confusion: only the youngest, Billy, grasps that this is a crime, but his understanding is dismissed by the others. The situation quickly becomes a moral puzzle about duty, loyalty, and their shared past in a town that has already weathered upheaval.

The group decides it’s too late to navigate the river that night, proposing to hike out at first light. Before they leave, Stewart ties the dead girl to the riverbank, a frantic attempt to contain the evidence. Yet the next day, Stewart goes fishing and, after landing a large fish, the men delay their departure, opting to spend the afternoon by the water rather than informing the police immediately. The quiet space of their fishing trip becomes a tense ground where unspoken rules and cultural guilt begin to fester.

Meanwhile, back in town, the wives gather—Jude, Claire Laura Linney, and Rocco’s girlfriend Carmel—and old tensions surface in the wake of the tragedy. Jude, Carl’s wife, reveals that their daughter died nearly two years earlier, leaving them to raise a granddaughter, Caylin-Calandria, who struggles with psychological issues. Claire’s revelation about her own mental health history—an earlier postpartum breakdown and a lengthy absence from her family—adds another layer to the fragile fabric of marriage among the group. The history between the women and the men deepens the conflict: Claire questions Stewart’s readiness for fatherhood, and Jude defends her husband even as the town’s collective judgment begins to turn.

When the four men finally return home late Sunday night and inform the police, the investigation spills into the private sphere. At the station, a police officer openly condemns their decision to “fish over a dead body” instead of reporting it, a line that underscores the gulf between their cultural code and the expectations of justice. The men feign a simple accident to explain their delay—Carl’s supposed ankle strain—while the community’s anger grows, complicated by racial tensions as some Aboriginal residents vandalize buildings with painted slurs.

The narrative expands to reveal the broader clash between a Western town rebuilt after relocation for a dam and the ancient beliefs of the Aboriginal community. Claire and Elissa (Billy’s partner) alone show genuine remorse and a desire to make amends, while Jude defends Carl’s actions, insisting the girl’s death made the choice to stay or leave seem immaterial. As Claire pushes for accountability, tensions flare and threaten to tear the town apart. Claire, who is grappling with her own past and a possible second pregnancy, seeks a path forward, contemplating abortion while still not sharing the full weight of her turmoil with Stewart.

As the story unfolds, the town’s fractures widen. Claire’s attempts to support Caylin-Calandria and to connect with the girl’s family are met with rebukes alongside gestures of charity—donations for the funeral are collected and offered, even as suspicion and resentment simmer beneath the surface. The relationship between Stewart and Claire grows increasingly strained; a heated confrontation leaves them in a rare moment of raw exposure, revealing the emotional cost of the crisis on their marriage. The strain extends to the men’s rivalries and loyalties, each man choosing how to defend his own actions and those of his mates.

The tragedy continues to cast a long shadow. As the annual memorial approaches, the murderer—still at large—appears at the periphery, a constant reminder of the unresolved violence that lingered on the river. The memorial service itself becomes a fragile attempt at reconciliation, with the father of the murdered girl throwing dirt on Stewart and walking away in disgust, a stark image of the town’s unwillingness to forgive. Yet, despite the anger and the accusations, Stewart reaches out to Claire, inviting her back and signaling a potential to rebuild what has been strained beyond repair.

Throughout the film, the unresolved threat of the killer remains a quiet undercurrent, a presence that never quite disappears. The story continually returns to questions of responsibility, memory, and belonging: who deserves sympathy, who must answer for their choices, and how a small community reconciles its past with a difficult, unsettled present. The result is a measured, morally probing drama that looks at how a single, brutal act can expose the deep fault lines in a town and in the people who call it home.

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 10:29