About this Event
Sunday August 9, 2pm Evil Angels (Fred Schepisi Australia 1988 121 mins)
When John Bryson’s Evil Angels was published in 1985, Lindy Chamberlain had already spent more than three years in a Darwin Pr*son. Fred Schepisi, who was initially reluctant to even read the book, soon became ‘appalled at how little information the people who talked so much about the case actually had’ and was outraged and angry at himself for having ‘participated in this process’.
Working from a screenplay co-written with Robert Caswell, Schepisi’s film became one of the most expensive and elaborate ever shot in Australia, with 350 speaking cast and 4,000 extras. Many of these made up a Greek chorus of ordinary Australians happily sharing gossip and misinformation at the barbecues, bowling clubs and pubs of a country obsessed by the case, while the media enthusiastically fanned the flames of resentment against a woman from a ‘suspect’ religion who refused to portray the socially acceptable role of the grieving mother. Meryl Streep’s performance as Lindy Chamberlain is extraordinarily powerful while Sam Neill’s portrayal of her bewildered husband Michael is truthful and moving.
Despite winning five awards from eight nominations at the 1989 AFI Awards: Best Picture, Director, Actor (Sam Neill), Actress (Meryl Streep) and Adapted Screenplay, the film did not perform as well as it deserved to at the domestic box office. Film critic Richard Kuipers has suggested that the unflattering portrayal of bigotry and intolerance in Australia may have harmed its chances. He named it a highlight of 1980s Australian cinema and went on to say: ‘Curiously, and then again maybe not, it has never been released domestically on DVD.’
US critic Roger Ebert used his review of the film as an argument against the death penalty, writing that ‘Lindy Chamberlain spent 3 1/2 years in Pr*son for a M**der she did not commit, but at least she did not die for it,’
This session will be presented by Damien Spiccia and Michael O’Rourke who will host a discussion after the screening.
John Bryson’s Evil Angels is available in paperback, Kindle and Audible.
Doors/Bar 1.00pm Film 2.00pm
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
The Backlot Perth, 21 Simpson Street, West Perth, Australia
AUD 15.00
