3 stars out of 4
Added 2/23/2009
The Bottom Line:
A Cry in the Dark is a capable docudrama that does a fine job retelling the story that shocked Australia; while it should be condemned for making people say "The dingo ate my baby!" in awful Australian accents, it's a worthy film with good acting by Streep and Neil.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Media frenzy, Aussie-style
Added 9/20/2008
I missed this true news story, but the movie recreates the group witch hunt that chased this Aussie couple to the penitentiary for a crime they never committed. Rumors, innuendo, boredom and group think were some of the factors involved. The film does a good job with it all, and the Aussie mood and landscapes are captured well. Streep is great, and Sam Neill is ok as the religious father caught up in the '80s craziness.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Sadly, this is a true story...
Added 8/5/2008
I state the obvious in my title for a reason; for it is films like this that open your eyes to a very ugly side of life and humanity and kind of make you cringe inside at the very thought of belonging to the same species as some of these people. I know that that may sound harsh, but I dare you to watch this harrowing film and not find yourself thinking the same way. I couldn't help but close my eyes in agony during sections of this film, my wife gasping as we took in everything that this poor family had to suffer and endure; to no fault of their own besides maybe a poor decision that should have never been held over their heads.
`Evil Angels' (or `A Cry in the Dark' here in the states) tells the heartbreaking true story of the Chamberlain family who lost their young daughter while camping in the Australian outback. In the middle of the night a dingo snuck into the tent in which their 10-week old daughter Azaria was sleeping and ran off with her. A search was started yet her body was never found, and when the search was ended the witch-hunt began as the community and the media launched an all out attack on the family, especially the mother Lindy, trying to pin her down for the murder of her child.
You think that the worst thing that can happen to a parent is to lose a child; but that pain seems minimal when you find yourself accused of taking their life.
`Evil Angels' recounts the court proceedings that followed the disappearance of Azaria Chamberlain as her family is tormented and persecuted and mercilessly attacked by everyone around them. It is true that we live in a world where young children are killed and or abused daily, and many times by a parent, but we also live in a world where you are supposed to remain innocent until proven guilty, and no guilt was every proven against Lindy or Michael Chamberlain, which makes their treatment all the more devastating.
Sam Neill and Meryl Streep are superb as the crushed souls known as Michael and Lindy Chamberlain. They each dominate their characters, truly sinking into the thoughts and actions and wreckage that comes from this unforeseen situation. Neill embodies Michael with such sympathy and pain; his eyes bleeding with this uncomfortable sadness that scratches at his heart. As the court proceedings carry on and his relationship with Lindy becomes strained you can really see that he is trying to understand what is happening to him, but his mind can't grasp it; or maybe it doesn't want to. Meryl Streep is a revelation as Lindy. Lindy deals with her situation in stark contrast to her husband, forcing herself to find humor in her treatment to deaden the pain; but when she takes the stand and her countenance falls and she starts to crumble you begin to understand that she is not as cold as she appears.
You realize just how badly she has been damaged by the actions of everyone around her.
`Evil Angels' is a very hard film to stomach. It reminds me much of `The Crucible' in that both films (true life accounts mind you) expose the cruelty and inhumane ways of humans in desperate situations. Through both films I felt this heat within my veins that boiled into full-fledged anger and frustration in people. Maybe it's because I am a parent, but even if I were not I still feel as if this film would have wounded me so-to-speak. The script, actors, direction and mere tone of the film only help to elevate the inevitable devastation, to such a degree that the ending solace seems more token and less gratifying.
This film is superb.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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A Cry in the Dark or Evil Angels
Added 6/4/2008
This has to be one of the most heart wrenching films I have ever seen.
This is the opposite of those movies that make you feel good about humanity and the world we live in ... This incredible true story makes you wonder how we call this civilization or justice.
Meryl Streep is tremendous as Mrs. Chamberlain, wife to a pastor husband, who experiences tragedy early on in the film. But the film focuses more on the tragedy that later befalls their lives as compassion and humanity are trampled by ignorance, rumor, hatred, and stubbornness.
Their story is amazing. It is sad and it makes you cry. And it will haunt you for some time. I believe there are few things scarier than being innocent and yet being unable to prove it because others believe in your guilt so diligently and blindly. Like Hitchcock's The Wrong Man, Cry in the Dark will leave its stain upon you, but will also give you hope in the end.
Highly recommend it is seen, but buy it with caution (some moments are so terribly painful you may not ever want to see them again).
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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A Cry in the Dark
Added 1/7/2008
A very fine acting performance by the main characters -- hard to watch knowing how injustice and prejudice colored the "investigation" -- but well worth the time. Will watch this one more than once.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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3 stars out of 4
Added 2/23/2009
The Bottom Line:
A Cry in the Dark is a capable docudrama that does a fine job retelling the story that shocked Australia; while it should be condemned for making people say "The dingo ate my baby!" in awful Australian accents, it's a worthy film with good acting by Streep and Neil.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
|
Media frenzy, Aussie-style
Added 9/20/2008
I missed this true news story, but the movie recreates the group witch hunt that chased this Aussie couple to the penitentiary for a crime they never committed. Rumors, innuendo, boredom and group think were some of the factors involved. The film does a good job with it all, and the Aussie mood and landscapes are captured well. Streep is great, and Sam Neill is ok as the religious father caught up in the '80s craziness.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
|
Sadly, this is a true story...
Added 8/5/2008
I state the obvious in my title for a reason; for it is films like this that open your eyes to a very ugly side of life and humanity and kind of make you cringe inside at the very thought of belonging to the same species as some of these people. I know that that may sound harsh, but I dare you to watch this harrowing film and not find yourself thinking the same way. I couldn't help but close my eyes in agony during sections of this film, my wife gasping as we took in everything that this poor family had to suffer and endure; to no fault of their own besides maybe a poor decision that should have never been held over their heads.
`Evil Angels' (or `A Cry in the Dark' here in the states) tells the heartbreaking true story of the Chamberlain family who lost their young daughter while camping in the Australian outback. In the middle of the night a dingo snuck into the tent in which their 10-week old daughter Azaria was sleeping and ran off with her. A search was started yet her body was never found, and when the search was ended the witch-hunt began as the community and the media launched an all out attack on the family, especially the mother Lindy, trying to pin her down for the murder of her child.
You think that the worst thing that can happen to a parent is to lose a child; but that pain seems minimal when you find yourself accused of taking their life.
`Evil Angels' recounts the court proceedings that followed the disappearance of Azaria Chamberlain as her family is tormented and persecuted and mercilessly attacked by everyone around them. It is true that we live in a world where young children are killed and or abused daily, and many times by a parent, but we also live in a world where you are supposed to remain innocent until proven guilty, and no guilt was every proven against Lindy or Michael Chamberlain, which makes their treatment all the more devastating.
Sam Neill and Meryl Streep are superb as the crushed souls known as Michael and Lindy Chamberlain. They each dominate their characters, truly sinking into the thoughts and actions and wreckage that comes from this unforeseen situation. Neill embodies Michael with such sympathy and pain; his eyes bleeding with this uncomfortable sadness that scratches at his heart. As the court proceedings carry on and his relationship with Lindy becomes strained you can really see that he is trying to understand what is happening to him, but his mind can't grasp it; or maybe it doesn't want to. Meryl Streep is a revelation as Lindy. Lindy deals with her situation in stark contrast to her husband, forcing herself to find humor in her treatment to deaden the pain; but when she takes the stand and her countenance falls and she starts to crumble you begin to understand that she is not as cold as she appears.
You realize just how badly she has been damaged by the actions of everyone around her.
`Evil Angels' is a very hard film to stomach. It reminds me much of `The Crucible' in that both films (true life accounts mind you) expose the cruelty and inhumane ways of humans in desperate situations. Through both films I felt this heat within my veins that boiled into full-fledged anger and frustration in people. Maybe it's because I am a parent, but even if I were not I still feel as if this film would have wounded me so-to-speak. The script, actors, direction and mere tone of the film only help to elevate the inevitable devastation, to such a degree that the ending solace seems more token and less gratifying.
This film is superb.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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