A Cry in the Dark
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| A Cry in the Dark | |
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| Directed by | Fred Schepisi |
| Produced by | Verity Lambert |
| Written by | Robert Caswell Fred Schepisi |
| Starring | Meryl Streep Sam Neill |
| Cinematography | Ian Baker |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | 1988 |
| Running time | 120 min |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
A Cry in the Dark (American and European title) or Evil Angels (Australian title) is a 1988 film based on the disappearance and assumed death of Azaria Chamberlain, a ten-week-old baby girl who went missing from a campground near Uluru/Ayers Rock on 17 August 1980.
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[edit] Production
Director Fred Schepisi returned to Australia to make this film. The film closely followed the actual events of the disappearance and the trial that followed, but the overriding theme of the film was how the media and often ill-informed public rapidly came to a judgement of the guilt of Lindy Chamberlain, based on a "trial by media". Suspicions of her religion and her perceived lack of emotion on television news coverage as she attended the trial fed the public's perception of her, which may have influenced the jury's decision.
The screenplay was written by Schepisi and Robert Caswell, and was based on the book Evil Angels by John Bryson (Australian writer), a former lawyer. It was produced by Verity Lambert, whose production company Cinema Verity was one of the partners in the film.
[edit] Reception
A Cry in the Dark was critically applauded both in Australia and overseas. In 1989, it was nominated for four Golden Globes including best director and best picture—drama. Schepisi was nominated for a Golden Palm, and Streep won the Best Actress award at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival. In the same year, the film was nominated for eight Australian Film Institute awards and won five: Best Film, Best Actor (Sam Neill), Best Actress (Meryl Streep), Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay (Caswell and Schepisi).[1] In addition, Streep was nominated for Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the film.
[edit] Cast
- Meryl Streep as Lindy Chamberlain
- Sam Neill as Michael Chamberlain
- Brian James as Cliff Murchison
- Bill McCluskey as Greg Lowe
[edit] References
- Evil angels / John Bryson (1985, ISBN 0-670-80993-4)
- Le chien du desert rouge / John Bryson (1997, ISBN 2-7427-1271-2)
[edit] External links
Julia (1977) • The Deer Hunter (1978) • Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) • Manhattan (1979) • The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981) • Sophie's Choice (1982) • Silkwood (1983) • Falling in Love (1984) • Out of Africa (1985) • Plenty (1985) • Heartburn (1986) • Ironweed (1987) • A Cry in the Dark (1988) • She-Devil (1989) • Postcards from the Edge (1993) • The Bridges of Madison County (1995) • Marvin's Room (1996) • Music of the Heart (1999) • The Hours (2002) • Adaptation. (2002) • The Manchurian Candidate (2004) • Prime (2005) • A Prairie Home Companion (2006) • The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
