Detective Travis Hurley investigates a 20-year old outback cold case murder, uncovering the pain of an Aboriginal family who have suffered ongoing neglect and racism at the hands of the justice system. A film by Ivan Sen, starring Simon Baker, Rob Collins, Natasha Wanganeen, and Nicholas Hope.

Detective Travis Hurley (Simon Baker) is tasked with revisiting a cold case: the disappearance of Charlotte Hayes, a young girl who vanished twenty years ago while returning home in the desolate outback town of Limbo. We get glimpses into Travis’ past, revealing a strained relationship with his ex-wife, who now has a new husband, and their son who lives with them. Glimpses into Travis’ past also shed light on his troubled past in the drug squad, offering a possible explanation for his current heroin addiction.

Travis visits Charlotte’s brother Charlie (Rob Collins), who lives alone in his RV parked near an opal mining site. Charlie is clearly unhappy to learn Travis is reviewing Charlotte’s case. He asserts it should have come 20 years ago. Upset, Charlie doesn’t want to talk about the past trauma and asks Travis to leave. Travis leaves his business card on Charlie’s pickup truck windshield, telling Charlie not to take too much time to contact him if he changes his mind, as he’s only in town for a few days.

Travis finds Charlie’s sister Emma (Natasha Wanganeen), at the café in the main street. Like her brother, Emma seems unenthusiastic to learn Travis is reviewing Charlotte’s case. She asks if he’s already spoken to Charlie, then tells him she’ll need some time to think about talking to him about Charlotte, her family, and the case.

Travis’s next stop is Leon’s place, hoping to speak with him as a former suspect in Charlotte’s case. However, he learns from Leon’s brother, Joseph (Nicholas Hope), that Leon sadly passed away last year. Joseph also mentions that Leon suffered from dementia in his final days.

Frustrated by the lack of cooperation and finding little progress reviewing the case, Travis decides to cut his trip short. Checking out of the hotel the next day, he walks to his car and notices the door ajar with exposed wires dangling from the console, clearly a sign of a break-in. He tries to start the engine, but the car won’t budge. Upon inspection, the town’s mechanic (Nicholas Buckland) delivers grim news: the computer chip is fried. Since the replacement needs to be ordered from the city, Travis is stuck waiting for repairs for a couple of days.

Having a change of heart, Charlie asks Travis to drive him to a spot where the townspeople believe Charlotte was last seen walking home carrying groceries. Charlie also tells Travis that the cops deliberately ignored the missing report because Charlotte was black. Two weeks later, instead of searching for Charlotte, child welfare showed up to investigate all the black residents in town. It wasn’t until a year later that the police went after Leon. However, Leon was let go by the police due to insufficient evidence. Charlie asserts bitterly that it was too late. By then, any potential evidence had likely been destroyed.

Written and directed by Australian filmmaker Ivan Sen, the film’s strength lies in its compelling script, which goes beyond the whodunit of a cold case murder. LIMBO unfurls a tale of the simmering tensions of racism and the weight of unresolved grief on a remote Australian town.

Simon Baker delivers a solid performance as Detective Travis Hurley, a jaded investigator sent to review the 20-year-old case of a missing Indigenous girl. Baker portrays Hurley with a quiet intensity, a man haunted by his own past and burdened by the weight of the investigation. The supporting cast is equally impressive, both Rob Collins and Natasha Wanganeen bring depth and raw emotion to their characters.

Shot in striking black and white, the cinematography creates a hauntingly beautiful and ominous atmosphere. LIMBO is a slow burn, a character study disguised as a crime drama. But for those willing to surrender to its deliberate pace, it offers a thought-provoking exploration of grief, guilt, and the legacy of unresolved crimes.

LIMBO premiered at Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin on 23 February 2023. The film was theatrically released in Australia on 18 May.