A Cry in the Dark

Starring: Meryl Streep, Sam Neill, Dorothy Alison, Maurie Fields, Peter Hosking, Matthew Barker, Sandy Gore, Lewis Fitz-Gerald
Directed by: Fred Schepisi
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama
1988

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A mother (Meryl Streep) suffers the tragedy of a dingo stealing and killing her baby, then must fight with her husband (Sam Neill) to proclaim her innocence after being accused of murdering the child.

Review:

Tim: This based on a true story drama is exceptionally well done and tells the quite shocking story of a mother accused of murder after proclaiming "a dingo took my baby". The court case was infamous in Australia and known throughout the world. A Cry in the Dark tells this story admirably well. I found the movie to be intriguing and compelling from beginning to end. This is a really effective film.

I knew of the Chamberlain story at only the highest levels. The "dingo" line is well known, even though most of what I heard about it was more joking. There's nothing funny about the scenario, though. I can't imagine the horror of realizing a wild dog has killed your infant baby. Then, the Chamberlains experience ridicule and scorn from all aspects of society as they are accused of murder, lying, and a host of other crimes. Can you imagine trying to move past a tragedy and continually being forced to relive it, to defend yourself against recurring accusations? The whole story is nearly beyond belief and the fact that it's a true story makes it that much more powerful. I thought the film did a nice job of telling this story with layers of complexity. The Chamberlains aren't perfect people- some of the decisions they make truly make you scratch your head. Their faith served them well, but it also caused them to react oddly at times. I'm not saying all the accusations had merit, but they were often their own worst enemies throughout this ordeal. The film does a nice job of showing multiple sides to these characters and their situation. The film moves briskly and it holds our attention throughout its two hour run time.

I thought director Fred Schepisi did an outstanding job of showing how rumor, gossip, and debate raged throughout Australia. We get a ton of scenes of ordinary people discussing the case, arguing about it, occasionally fighting about it. It might seem odd to dedicate so many short scenes to the ordinary people and their reactions to the Chamberlain case, but it was essential for us to see that. There's court cases here, but the Chamberlains were truly judged in the public eye on a continuous basis. Their guilt was declared by many throughout the country before their cases came to conclusion. This movie does one of the best jobs I've ever seen of portraying a country's obsession with a high profile case like this. I loved that aspect of the film.

The movie is boosted by two tremendous performances. Meryl Streep delivers an exceptional performance as Lindy. I feel like I often take Streep for granted because of how many impressive performances she's delivered throughout her career. Here, she brings so much emotional and layers of complexity to this woman. There's times when you feel outraged for her, and there's times you feel outraged at her. Streep gives a complex performance that sticks with you. It's not a surprise that she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress here. That was the film's only nomination. Stunningly, it was her 8th Academy Award nomination (2 for Supporting, 6 for Best Actress). It's another incredible performance from her. Sam Neill was excellent, too. I'm a big Neill fan and I always love seeing him work. He and Streep made a terrific team. They interacted well opposite each other. That's one of the best parts of this film- seeing Streep and Neill given these meaty, complicated roles and watching them act the heck out of them. This is a very good movie, but it depends so much on these two leads. The casting department did well here- they were both exceptional.

I really enjoyed A Cry in the Dark. This is a film about a notorious court case, but it never loses sight of the human beings at the center of all this. It's a character drama first and foremost. There's legal proceedings and we get a number of those scenes (which all work), but it feels like those are all in service of telling the Chamberlain's story. This movie isn't perfect- it never dives deeply enough into the emotional state. I was interested in these characters but I didn't feel much depth in an emotional connection way. The movie can't quite move from the intellectual to the emotional. However, it's still quite well made and entertaining from beginning to end. This is a movie I felt so glad to have seen.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Deer Hunter, Sophie's Choice, Out of Africa, The Piano