Any writer of fiction might tell you there comes a time in their creative process when they feel as if they have stepped into the story they’re dreaming up. For bestselling crime author Jane Harper, it literally happened.
In April 2019, filming had not long been underway on the big-screen adaptation of journalist-turned-novelist Harper’s first book, the phenomenally popular Australian murder mystery The Dry, when she, along with a handful of friends and family members, visited the production’s shooting location in Victoria’s Wimmera region.
Enlisted as an extra for a funeral sequence, Harper found herself standing in her own imagination – a resident of a town she had created in her mind, surrounded by ‘characters whose names I remembered thinking up when I was doing a draft of my book,’ she said with a laugh.
‘Surreal is the best way to describe it. But seeing how it was coming together gave me a really good, positive feeling. It was a very special moment.’
Surreal could also describe Harper’s meteoric rise to prominence as an author since The Dry first took the publishing world by storm upon its release, published by Pan Macmillan, in 2016. But to do would sell short the author, who has a genuine knack for page-turning plots and vivid, atmospheric depictions of her characters and locations, not to mention a prodigious work ethic: she’s turned out a novel a year since The Dry.
Speaking with Harper prior to the release of Robert Connolly’s film on January 1, 2021, what came through most clearly was her pride and confidence in the adaptation, and her happiness at working with such open, supportive and cooperative collaborators.
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On both sides of the camera, The Dry has assembled a veritable dream team of Australian talent, from Connolly (who directed and co-wrote the screenplay with Harry Cripps) to powerhouse producers Bruna Papandrea, Steve Hutensky and Jodi Matterson, who under their company Made Up Stories, are behind titles like Big Little Lies, The Nightingale, The Undoing and the upcoming Penguin Bloom and Nine Perfect Strangers. Then there’s leading man Eric Bana and a strong, diverse cast of recognisable talents and newcomers, including Genevieve O’Reilly, Miranda Tapsell, BeBe Bettencourt and Keir O’Donnell.
All come together to tell the story of the tiny Victorian town of Kiewarra, which is already struggling against an ongoing drought that’s leeching the life out of the place. Then the town is shocked by a terrible crime leaving three members of a family dead.
When federal policeman Aaron Falk, played by Bana, returns to Kiewarra for his childhood friend’s funeral, his unofficial investigation into the crime not only uncovers the town’s secrets but also brings to light the tragic incidents that led Falk to turn his back on Kiewarra years earlier.
With The Dry, Harper’s plotting is punchy and her descriptions cinematic, but she says she had ‘no inkling’ when writing the book that she’d be discussing a screen adaptation of it within a few short years.
‘But a big part of setting the scene was thinking about the elements that would create the picture for the reader,’ she said.
‘You want to give the reader the feeling of the heat and the isolation and the struggles facing this community. You’re trying to pick out the key points that will illustrate in the most efficient and engaging way.
‘What they’ve done so well with the film is pick out certain parts of that and do a lot with a little.’
Moves to bring the book to the screen were underway before it was even published, says Harper, with the author quick to praise Papandrea’s early involvement in the process.
‘Bruna optioned it in 2015, a year before it was published – before it was, you know, The Dry,’ she said. ‘To have someone believe in your work enough to option it and see the project through to completion is a huge validation. Because the stars absolutely have to align for a film to get made – you have to have the right people committing their time and financial investment.’
Similarly, Connolly’s commitment to ensuring The Dry retained its homegrown texture in its transition from page to screen earned Harper’s respect and admiration.
‘It is a big leap of faith to hand your work over to someone else,’ she said. ‘But I knew these people had good hands. Robert was someone I met many times, and he wrote a beautifully sensitive adaptation – really true to what I imagined when I wrote the book.
‘And they could have cut corners when they went into production but they actually went to these Victorian locations, got the support of the locals and gave it the authenticity I feel the film has.
Jane Harper
‘I could see the track they were on, and that gave me a lot of faith the finished film would be as good as it is.’
Indeed, Harper says she was ‘blown away’ by her first viewing of The Dry when he saw a version ‘close to the final cut’ late last year.
‘I think everyone has had that experience of going to see a film based on a book you’ve really enjoyed and hoping they do it justice,’ she said with a smile. ‘When you’ve actually written the book, the anticipation is somewhat higher! I loved it. I was so impressed with every aspect of it.’
What’s more, she’s pleased that distributor Roadshow has enough faith in the finished product to open it nationwide in cinemas on the ‘pole-position’ date of January 1 – ‘It’s a really wonderful way to start the year’.
Above: Director Robert Connolly and Eric Bana on set of The Dry, courtesy Roadshow.
And beyond the release of The Dry? Well, Papandrea’s production company Made Up Stories has the rights to the character of Aaron Falk, who also appears in Harper’s second novel Force of Nature, ‘so they have first call on that book’.
As well, her latest book The Survivors has been optioned for television: ‘I’ll let the other people involved make their own announcement in due course,’ she said. ‘But I think it has found a really good home.’
And while her experience with the creation and production of The Dry was a positive one, Harper is currently content to stick to the page.
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‘For me as an author, the books are enough,’ she said. ‘I write books because I love them – I wanted to see it published and see it in bookshops. That’s my end goal.
‘I was really happy with the level of involvement I had on The Dry, and that’s probably enough for me. Being involved with the films takes up a lot of time, so I think the best thing to do is find people you trust will do a good job and give them the freedom to do it. What happened with The Dry is the ideal kind of mix for me.’
The Dry opens in cinemas around Australia January 1, 2021.
