The Nightingale (2018 film)
The Nightingale is a 2018 Australian historical psychological thriller film written and directed by Jennifer Kent.[6][7][8] The film stars Aisling Franciosi, Sam Claflin, Baykali Ganambarr, Damon Herriman, Harry Greenwood, Ewen Leslie, Charlie Shotwell, and Michael Sheasby. Set in 1825 in Van Diemen's Land, it follows a young Irish convict woman (Franciosi) seeking vengeance against the sadistic English Colonial Force Lieutenant (Claflin) and soldiers who first raped her and then murdered both her husband and infant daughter. She is aided by an Aboriginal Tasmanian tracker (Ganambarr), who similarly seeks vengeance for the murderous Black War against his own people. In addition to being filmed in both English and in the Irish language, The Nightingale is the first motion picture to be filmed in palawa kani, a reconstructed form of the once extinct Tasmanian languages.
| The Nightingale | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Jennifer Kent |
| Written by | Jennifer Kent |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Radek Ładczuk |
| Edited by | Simon Njoo |
| Music by | Jed Kurzel |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Transmission Films |
Release dates |
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Running time | 136 minutes[2] |
| Country | Australia |
| Languages |
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| Budget | $2 million[3] |
| Box office | $909,847[4][5] |
The Nightingale premiered at the 75th Venice International Film Festival on 6 September 2018, where it was nominated for the Golden Lion and won the Special Jury Prize, while Ganambarr won the Marcello Mastroianni Award. The film was theatrically released in Australia on 29 August 2019 to widespread acclaim, with particular praise for the performances of the cast, cinematography, writing, visual style, and acknowledgement of racial violence in Australia, though it generated controversy over its graphic portrayal of rape and murder.
Plot edit
In 1825, on the eve of the Black War, Irish convict Clare Carroll works as a servant for a Colonial force detachment commanded by Lieutenant Hawkins. The unit is visited by an officer to see if Hawkins is fit for promotion. Clare, nicknamed "Nightingale", sings and serves drinks for the men. After work, Clare visits Hawkins to make an inquiry, and he forces her to sing a special song for him. Hawkins makes unwanted advances on her and Clare rebuffs them. She asks about the letter of recommendation that would free her, her husband Aidan, and their infant daughter Bridget, but Hawkins rapes her for her perceived insolence. Aidan suspects that Clare has been hurt but remains calm when he confronts Hawkins about the letter, but he fails to sway him.
That night, Aidan engages in a brawl with Hawkins, his second-in-command Sergeant Ruse, and Ensign Jago. The visiting officer witnesses the incident and decides that he is unfit for promotion. Hawkins commands Ruse and Jago to gather supplies for a journey through the bush to the town of Launceston, Tasmania, in hopes of negotiating with the officer. Before departing, the soldiers intercept the Carroll family, attempting to flee. Hawkins rapes Clare and bids Ruse to do so as well, which he does. Hawkins shoots and kills Aidan, and commands Jago to quiet Clare's crying baby, resulting in Jago swinging the infant against the wall and killing her. Instructed to kill Clare and "finish things," a hesitant Jago hits her in the head with his rifle butt.
The following morning, Clare awakes. She then reports the incident to a RMP officer, but realizes that he's of no help, so decides to seek revenge herself, with the help of an Aboriginal tracker named Billy. Clare presents the mission to Billy as her desire to rendezvous with her husband on his journey. At first, Clare is openly racist towards Billy and he sees her as no different from the English colonists who murdered his family. Their mutual hostility dissipates, however, as they learn about each other's tragic pasts and realize that they are both survivors of conquered peoples with persecuted cultures. Billy tells Clare that his actual name is Mangana, palawa kani for "blackbird", the yellow-tailed black cockatoo, and that he wishes to go north to reunite with the female survivors of his tribe. Meanwhile, the officers recruit three white convicts and an Aboriginal tracker, Charlie, for their journey. Hawkins takes a liking to one of the convicts, a child named Eddie, and Ruse kidnaps a woman named Lowanna to be used as a sex slave. Aboriginal men kill one of the convicts and injure Jago in an unsuccessful rescue mission. Hawkins holds Lowanna hostage, then kills her, distracting the men. He, Ruse, and the convicts flee, leaving Jago behind. Later, Clare and Mangana stumble upon Jago, whom Mangana assumes is her husband. Clare corners Jago, stabbing and beating him to death (an event that haunts her later nightmares). A shocked Mangana considers abandoning Clare, but when he learns the reasons behind her quest for revenge, he decides to stay.
Charlie, as revenge for the soldiers' actions towards the natives, diverts the journey to a dead end on the summit of a mountain. Ruse kills him, but Hawkins chastises Ruse, as Charlie was the only one who could have led them out of the bush, and forces him to be their guide as humiliation on the way back down. After Clare and Mangana find Charlie's body, Mangana performs burial rites and informs Clare that now he, too, seeks vengeance. The two approach the group of four men, but Clare freezes when she sees Hawkins, allowing him to graze her with a musket shot, forcing Clare and Mangana to split up. Mangana is found and forced to be the new guide. He brings the soldiers back to the main path to Launceston, and Hawkins orders Eddie to kill Mangana, but Eddie hesitates, allowing Mangana to escape. Hawkins tries to abandon Eddie, but when Eddie begs for a second chance, Hawkins shoots and kills him. Clare also finds her way back onto the main path and reunites with Mangana. They encounter a chain gang of Aboriginal men, one of whom informs Mangana that he is now the last of his people. When the prisoner yells at his captors about their treatment of indigenous people, they shoot him and the others dead before proceeding to take their heads as trophies. Later on, while eating dinner with a sympathetic couple, Mangana weeps openly, lamenting the loss of his people and home.
In Launceston, Clare confronts a newly promoted Hawkins as a mass murderer and a rapist in the presence of his fellow officers, while Mangana watches in hiding. The two then flee town, but Mangana dons war paint, and returns, despite Clare's pleas that he will be murdered. She follows as Mangana enters the hostel where Hawkins and Ruse are lodged, and proceeds to kill them both, but not before Ruse shoots and deeply wounds him. Clare and Mangana flee and arrive at a beach where Mangana sings and dances, declaring himself a free man, while Clare sings a Sean-nós song in the Irish language as the two watch the sun rise.
Cast edit
- Aisling Franciosi as Claire Carroll
- Sam Claflin as Hawkins
- Baykali Ganambarr as "Billy" Mangana
- Damon Herriman as Ruse
- Harry Greenwood as Jago
- Ewen Leslie as Goodwin
- Charlie Shotwell as Eddie
- Michael Sheasby as Aidan Carroll
- Charlie Jampijinpa Brown as Charlie
- Magnolia Maymuru as Lowanna
- Nathaniel Dean as Stoakes
- Luke Carroll as Archie
Production edit
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2019) |
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, director Jennifer Kent was "deluged" with film scripts from the United States after the success of her debut film The Babadook (2014), but decided to focus on writing and directing The Nightingale.[9] IndieWire reported that shooting for The Nightingale began on location in Tasmania in March 2017.[10]
Due to the brutality of the film's scenes, psychologists were brought on set to support the actors.[11]
Release edit
The Nightingale was released in the United States on 2 August 2019 by IFC Films, and in Australia on 29 August by Transmission Films.[12][13] The film was selected to be screened in the main competition section of the 75th Venice International Film Festival,[14][15][16] and had its Australian premiere at the 2018 Adelaide Film Festival.[17] IFC Films announced on Twitter that it had bought the rights to distribute the film in the US and set a release for summer 2019, following its festival run.[18]
Reception edit
Critical response edit
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2019) |
On Rotten Tomatoes, The Nightingale holds an approval rating of 86%, based on 241 reviews, and an average rating of 7.5/10. Its consensus reads "The Nightingale definitely isn't for all tastes, but writer-director Jennifer Kent taps into a rich vein of palpable rage to tell a war story that leaves a bruising impact."[19] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 77 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[20]
Marcella Papandrea from The Super Network said "There is no doubt The Nightingale won't be an easy watch for most, but it is an important watch. Jennifer Kent has carefully and respectfully crafted a brutal story, spilling harsh truths along the way."[21]
Controversy edit
The Nightingale received media attention following its initial screenings at the Sydney Film Festival, where approximately 30 out of 600 film-goers walked out of the cinema[22] due to its extreme depictions of rape and murder. One viewer was heard shouting "I'm not watching this; she's already been raped twice" as she exited the cinema. Kent defended the decision to show such violence, saying that the film contains historically accurate depictions of the violence and racism which was inflicted upon the indigenous Australian people of that time.[22] The film was produced in collaboration with Tasmanian Aboriginal elders who asserted that this is an honest and necessary depiction of their history and a story that needs to be told. Kent said she understands the negative reactions, but stated that she remains enormously proud of the film and stressed to audiences that this film is about "a need for love, compassion and kindness in dark times."[23]
At the 2018 Venice Film festival, an Italian film critic shouted a sexist comment when Kent's name appeared in the credits. It was similar to the slurs used against the film's protagonist. The Nightingale was the only film directed by a woman to be included in the festival's main competition.[24]
Accolades edit
| Award | Category | Subject | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AACTA Awards (9th) | Best Film | Kristina Ceyton, Steve Hutensky, Bruna Papandrea, Jennifer Kent | Won | [25] |
| Best Direction | Jennifer Kent | Won | ||
| Best Screenplay, Original or Adapted | Won | |||
| Best Actor | Baykali Ganambarr | Nominated | ||
| Best Actress | Aisling Franciosi | Won | ||
| Best Supporting Actor | Damon Herriman | Nominated | ||
| Michael Sheasby | Nominated | |||
| Best Supporting Actress | Magnolia Maymuru | Won | ||
| Best Cinematography | Radek Ladczuk | Nominated | ||
| Best Editing | Simon Njoo | Nominated | ||
| Best Sound | Leah Katz, Robert Mackenzie, Dean Ryan, Pete Smith | Nominated | ||
| Best Production Design | Alex Holmes | Nominated | ||
| Best Costume Design | Margot Wilson | Nominated | ||
| Best Hair and Makeup | Nikki Gooley, Cassie O'Brien, Larry Van Duynhoven | Nominated | ||
| Best Casting | Nikki Barrett | Won | ||
| Saturn Award (46th) | Best International Film | Nominated | [26] | |
See also edit
References edit
- ^ McNary, Dave (14 March 2017). ""Sam Claflin Thriller 'The Nightingale' Backed by Bron Creative"". Variety. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ "The Nightingale". Venice International Film Festival. 18 July 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
- ^ Vincent Cotroneo (22 November 2022). "Why The Nightingale Deserves Just as Much Acclaim as The Babadook". MovieWeb. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
- ^ "The Nightingale (2019)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
- ^ "The Nightingale (2019)". The Numbers. IMDb. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
- ^ Justin Chang (31 January 2019). "Jennifer Kent's 'The Nightingale' and Joanna Hogg's 'The Souvenir' bring boldly personal visions to Sundance". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
- ^ David Rooney (6 September 2018). "'The Nightingale': Film Review, Venice 2018". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
- ^ A.A. Dowd (1 August 2019). "Babadook director Jennifer Kent returns with a great, harrowing Western, The Nightingale". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
- ^ Maddox, Garry (22 March 2017). "Game of Thrones' Aisling Franciosi to star in Jennifer Kent's The Nightingale ", The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
- ^ Nordine, Michael (14 March 2017). "'The Nightingale': Jennifer Kent Begins Production on Her Follow-up to 'The Babadook'", IndieWire. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
- ^ Jones, Nate (8 August 2019). "The Nightingale's Baykali Ganambarr on Bringing Aboriginal Culture to the Screen". Vulture. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
- ^ Sprague, Mike (27 March 2019). "The Babadook Director Gets a Release Date for New Movie The Nightingale". MovieWeb. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
- ^ . Cult of Monster. 8 May 2019. Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ "Venice to Kick Off Awards Season With New Films From Coen Brothers, Luca Guadagnino and Alfonso Cuaron". The Hollywood Reporter. 25 July 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
- ^ Vivarelli, Nick (25 July 2018). "Venice Film Festival Lineup: Heavy on Award Hopefuls, Netflix and Star Power". Variety. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
- ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (4 September 2018). "'The Nightingale' Director Jennifer Kent On The Feminine Force & Retaining Humanity In Very Dark Times – Venice Q&A". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
- ^ . adelaidefilmfestival.org. 5 August 2018. Archived from the original on 12 February 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
- ^ Collis, Clark (9 January 2019). "Babadook director Jennifer Kent's new film The Nightingale to be released this summer". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ "The Nightingale (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
- ^ "The Nightingale (2019) Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
- ^ Papandrea, Marcella (5 August 2019). "[MIFF '19] The Nightingale (2018)". The Super Network. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
- ^ a b Thomas, Sarah (11 June 2019). "'I'm not watching this': Film's brutal account of Australia's colonial history sparks walkout". ABC News. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
- ^ "The Nightingale: Film director defends controversial rape scenes". BBC News. 11 June 2019. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
- ^ Pomeroy, Robin (6 September 2018). "Venice festival's only woman director gets sexist heckle at film screening". Reuters. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
- ^ "Aacta awards 2019 winners: The Nightingale and Total Control dominate Australian screen awards". The Guardian. 4 December 2019. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
- ^ Hipes, Patrick (4 March 2021). "Saturn Awards Nominations: 'Star Wars: Rise Of Skywalker', 'Tenet', 'Walking Dead', 'Outlander' Lead List". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
External links edit
- Official website
- The Nightingale at IMDb