A Cry in the Dark

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A Cry in the Dark

International poster
Directed by Fred Schepisi
Produced by Verity Lambert
Written by Robert Caswell
Fred Schepisi
Based on a book by John Bryson
Starring Meryl Streep
Sam Neill
Music by Bruce Smeaton
Cinematography Ian Baker
Editing by Jill Bilcock
Distributed by Warner Bros. (US)
Cannon Films (International)
Release date(s) November 4, 1988 Australia
November 11, 1988 USA
May 17, 1989 France
May 26, 1989 UK
Running time 121 minutes
Country Australia/United States
Language English
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

A Cry in the Dark is a 1988 Australian/American docudrama film directed by Fred Schepisi. The screenplay by Schepisi and Robert Caswell is based on John Bryson's 1985 book Evil Angels, the title under which the film was released in Australia. It chronicles the case of Azaria Chamberlain, a nine-week-old baby girl who disappeared from a campground near Ayers Rock on August 17, 1980.

Contents

[edit] Plot synopsis

Seventh-day Adventist Church pastor Michael Chamberlain, his wife Lindy, their two sons, and their nine-week-old daughter Azaria are on a camping holiday in the outback. With the baby sleeping in their tent, the family is enjoying a barbecue with their fellow campers when a cry is heard. Lindy returns to the tent to check on Azaria and is certain she sees a dingo with something in its mouth running off as she approaches. When she discovers the infant is missing, everyone joins forces to search for her, without success. It is assumed what Lindy saw the animal carrying off was the child, and a subsequent inquest rules her account of events is true.

The tide of public opinion soon turns against the Chamberlains. For many, Lindy seems too stoic, too coldhearted, and too accepting of the disaster that has befallen her. Gossip about her begins to swell and soon is accepted as statements of fact. The couple's beliefs are not widely practiced in the country, and when the media reports a rumor that the name Azaria means "sacrifice in the wilderness" (when in fact it means "blessed of God"), the public is quick to believe they decapitated their baby with a pair of scissors as part of a bizarre religious rite. Law-enforcement officials find new witnesses, forensics experts, and a lot of circumstantial evidence - including a small wooden coffin Michael uses as a receptacle for his parishioners' packs of unsmoked cigarettes - and reopen the investigation, and eventually Lindy is charged with murder. Seven months pregnant, she ignores her attorneys' advice to play on the jury's sympathy and appears emotionless on the stand, convincing onlookers she's guilty of the crime of which she's accused. As the trial progresses, Michael's faith in his religion and his belief in his wife disintegrate, and he stumbles through his testimony, suggesting he's concealing the truth. In October 1982, Lindy is found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labor, while Michael is found guilty as an accessory and given an 18-month suspended sentence.

More than three years later, while searching for the body of an English tourist who fell from Ayers Rock, police discover a small item of clothing that is identified as the jacket Lindy had insisted Azaria was wearing over her jumpsuit, which had been recovered early in the investigation. She immediately is released from prison, the case is reopened, and all convictions against Lindy and Michael are overturned.

[edit] Production notes

The film was released less than two months after the Chamberlains finally were exonerated by the Northern Territories Court of Appeals of all charges filed against them [1].

A Cry in the Dark wasn't the first – or last – project to explore the Chamberlain case. A 1983 Australian television movie, Who Killed Baby Azaria?, starred Elaine Hudson as Lindy and John Hamblin as Michael. In 2002, Lindy by Moya Henderson was staged by Opera Australia at the Sydney Opera House. The 2004 Australian miniseries Through My Eyes, featuring Miranda Otto and Craig McLachlan as the couple, was based on Lindy's memoir of the same name.

[edit] Principal cast

[edit] Critical reception

In his review in the New York Times, Vincent Canby said the film "has much of the manner of a television docudrama, ultimately being a rather comforting celebration of personal triumph over travails so dread and so particular that they have no truly disturbing, larger application. Yet A Cry in the Dark is better than that, mostly because of another stunning performance by Meryl Streep, who plays Lindy Chamberlain with the kind of virtuosity that seems to redefine the possibilities of screen acting . . . Though Sam Neill is very good as Lindy Chamberlain's tormented husband, Miss Streep supplies the guts of the melodrama that are missing from the screenplay. Mr. Schepisi has chosen to present the terrible events in the outback in such a way that there's never any doubt in the audience's mind about what happened. The audience doesn't worry about the fate of the Chamberlains as much as it worries about the unconvincing ease with which justice is miscarried. Mr. Schepisi may have followed the facts of the case, but he has not made them comprehensible in terms of the film. The manner by which justice miscarries is the real subject of the movie. In this screenplay, however, it serves only as a pretext for a personal drama that remains chilly and distant . . . As a result, the courtroom confrontations are so weakened that A Cry in the Dark becomes virtually a one-character movie. It's Mr. Schepisi's great good fortune that that one character is portrayed by the incomparable Meryl Streep." [2]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times observed, "Schepisi is successful in indicting the court of public opinion, and his methodical (but absorbing) examination of the evidence helps us understand the state's circumstantial case. In the lead role, Streep is given a thankless assignment: to show us a woman who deliberately refused to allow insights into herself. She succeeds, and so, of course, there are times when we feel frustrated because we do not know what Lindy is thinking or feeling. We begin to dislike the character, and then we know how the Australian public felt. Streep's performance is risky, and masterful." [3]

In the Washington Post, Rita Kempley said, "Streep - yes, with another perfect accent - brings her customary skillfulness to the part. It's not a showy performance, but the heroine's internal struggle seems to come from the actress' pores. Neill, who costarred with Streep in Plenty, is quite good as a humble, bewildered sort who finally breaks under cross-examination." [4]

Variety made note of the "intimate, incredible detail in the classy, disturbing drama." [5]

[edit] Awards and nominations

[edit] References

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Harper, Dan. "A Cry in the Dark Review." SensesOfCinema.com, March 2001. Retrieved: April 25, 2008.
  2. ^ Canby, Vincent. "Reviews/Film; Meryl Streep in 'A Cry in the Dark'." New York Times, nytimes.com, November 11, 1988. Retrieved: April 25, 2008.
  3. ^ Ebert, Roger. "A Cry in the Dark Review." Chicago Sun-Times, suntimes.com, November 11, 1988. Retrieved: April 25, 2008.
  4. ^ Kempley, Rita. "A Cry in the Dark (PG-13) Review." Washington Post, washingtonpost.com, November 11, 1988. Retrieved: April 25, 2008.
  5. ^ Variety Staff. "A Cry in the Dark, Australia: Evil Angels Review." Variety, variety.com, 1988. Retrieved: April 25, 2008.

[edit] Further reading

  • Bryson, John. Evil Angels. Ringwood, Australia: Penguin Books, 1985 (first edition). ISBN 0-67080-993-4.
  • Chamberlain, Lindy. Through My Eyes: Lindy Chamberlain, An Autobiography. Melbourne, Australia: William Heinemann, 1990. ISBN 0-85561-331-9.

[edit] External links

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