The Nightingale (2018)
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A young Irish convict and an Aboriginal tracker team up to seek vengeance against the colonial forces that destroyed their lives.
The story
Set in 1825 in Van Diemen's Land, Irish convict Clare Carroll works as a servant for a Colonial force detachment. After being brutally assaulted and losing her family to the hands of Lieutenant Hawkins and his men, Clare seeks revenge. She enlists the help of an Aboriginal tracker named Billy, who is also seeking retribution for the British occupiers' violence against his people. Despite their initial mutual hostility and different cultural backgrounds, the two form an uneasy alliance as they navigate the harsh wilderness of Tasmania to hunt down those responsible for their respective tragedies.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1825, Irish convict Clare Carroll, nicknamed 'Nightingale,' serves a Colonial force under Lieutenant Hawkins. After Hawkins rapes her and his men murder her husband and daughter, Clare seeks revenge. She teams up with Billy (Mangana), an Aboriginal tracker. While they initially harbor mutual prejudice, they bond over their shared losses. Meanwhile, Hawkins leads a group of convicts and another tracker, Charlie, through the bush. During the journey, Ruse kidnaps and kills an indigenous woman, Lowanna, and Charlie is eventually killed by Ruse. Clare and Mangana eventually find and kill Ensign Jago, but are forced to split up when they encounter Hawkins. Mangana is captured and forced to guide the soldiers again, eventually escaping after Hawkins orders a child convict, Eddie, to kill him; Hawkins kills the boy instead. In Launceston, Clare confronts Hawkins publicly. Mangana later returns in war paint to the hostel where Hawkins and Ruse are staying, killing them both before fleeing to a beach with Clare.
- First release year
- 2018
- Runtime (minutes)
- 136
- Production countries
- Australia
- Original languages
- English; Irish; palawa kani
- Directors
- Jennifer Kent
- Writers
- Jennifer Kent · writer
- Cast and characters
- Aisling Franciosi · Clare Carroll; Sam Claflin · Hawkins; Baykali Ganambarr · Billy (Mangana); Damon Herriman · Sergeant Ruse; Harry Greenwood · Ensign Jago; Ewen Leslie · Eddie; Charlie Shotwell · Charlie; Michael Sheasby · RMP officer; Magnolia Maymuru · Lowanna
- Genres
- historical psychological thriller; chase; Western; Australian Western; Irish-language; war drama; psychological drama; thriller
- Themes
- vengeance; racial violence; colonialism; loss; persecuted cultures
- Tone and mood
- brutal; palpable rage; dark
- Premise and plot tags
- rape and revenge; historical drama; western; war drama
- Content notes
- murder
- Reception
- The film received critical acclaim for its direction, performances, and portrayal of racial violence, despite controversy over its graphic content. It was a box office failure.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 77 · scale: 100 · review count: 35
- Awards and nominations
- Golden Lion · Nomination · Nominated; Best Film · AACTA Awards · Won; Best Direction · AACTA Awards · Won; Best Screenplay, Original or Adapted · AACTA Awards · Won; Best Actress · AACTA Awards · Won; Best Supporting Actress · AACTA Awards · Won
- Production trivia
- It is the first film to include palawa kani, a reconstructed form of the once extinct Tasmanian languages.; The film was the only film directed by a woman to be included in the Venice International Film Festival's main competition.; Psychologists were brought on set to support the actors due to the brutality of the film's scenes.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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