The Nightingale

Synopsis:

Set in 1825, Clare, a young Irish convict woman, chases a British officer through the rugged Tasmanian wilderness, bent on revenge for a terrible act of violence he committed against her family. On the way she enlists the services of an Aboriginal tracker named Billy, who is also marked by trauma from his own violence-filled past.

Movie Review (Words by Rhett Evans)

Aussie director Jennifer Kent’s follow-up to her feature film debut, The Babadook, has been a long time coming, but The Nightingale has definitely been worth the wait!

It’s certainly not for the faint of heart, but it’s also one of the most important and most powerful movies of 2019! Baykali Banambarr, and Sam Claflin are great in this, but Aisling Franciosi delivers one of the strongest performances of the year! It’s a crime that this movie isn’t being shown in many more cinemas than it currently is, and it’s a crime that more people aren’t talking about it!

If they haven’t done so already, Transmission Films and Screen Australia should seriously consider submitting The Nightingale as Australia’s candidate for the Best International Feature Film award (FKA Best Foreign Language Film) at the 2020 Oscars!

I think the film is strong enough to go toe-to-toe with the likes of South Korea’s submission, Parasite. If you have a chance to see The Nightingale, then go see it (for those people in the US, the movie is currently making its way through select cities). If The Babadook was a little film that came out of nowhere, then The Nightingale should be one that’s on everybody’s radar!

Warning:

Please note, this film features potentially triggering acts of sexual violence. It also contains violence towards Tasmanian Aboriginal people and children. The reasons for this are to show an authentic and honest representation of Tasmanian history during colonisation.

Extensive research was done by the writer/director on the history of convicts in Australia and the history of Tasmanian Aboriginal people. The filmmakers and cast also researched PTSD, violence against women and how people deal with trauma.

The film was developed and made in close consultation with Tasmanian Aboriginal elders (in particular, prominent elder Uncle Jim Everett) who have sanctioned the re-telling of their history. Psychologists and rape crisis counsellors in Australia were brought on board to authenticate the film’s content and have also given it their full support.