Sometimes, in order to acknowledge how brutal and horrendous colonization and racial violence is, you need to depict it in a manner that most audiences are viscerally uncomfortable with. In the case of Babadook director Jennifer Kent's second feature length film The Nightingale, the film garnered critical acclaim yet understandable controversy when its depictions of SA and murder disturbed many viewers in the festival circuit. While the film is hard to stomach in many respects, it's still an important film for many people's awareness.
Set in 1825 in Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania), the film follows a young Irish convict woman named Clare Carroll who seeks vengeance against the sadistic English Colonial Force Lieutenant Hawkins for assaulting her and murdering her family. She is aided by an Aboriginal Tasmanian tracker named Mangana who also seeks vengeance for the murderous Black War against his own people. As a period piece depicting genocide against the natives of Tasmania, the film is shockingly honest in how much it depicts history as what it really was. Much of the dialogue between the Aboriginal natives is in palawa kani, a first for a motion picture, and the brutality shown on screen allows us to emphasize with those we are not familiar with, not just Mangana. In addition, Clare being an Irish convict has every reason to go against the British as Mangana does once their friends and families are needlessly destroyed, and both Aisling Franciosi and Baykali Ganambarr work off well in overcoming their own prejudices to make for a sympathetic duo.
Now with this depicting such controversial subjects, your tolerance of what you see on screen may vary as this is not a film that will hold your hand in any way. On top of Sam Claflin's deplorably ruthless portrayal as Hawkins making one's skin crawl in nearly every scene he's in, many of his right hand men are more cowardly yet do what they can to go against anyone they abduct and mistreat. It's saying how unapologetically graphic this film is when its depictions of SA go beyond that of Clare herself, but the violence itself extends to people you would never expect from most thrillers. When even the most sympathetic people in the film make you relieved to see any semblance of humanity, you feel for Clare and Mangano's pleas for justice during such a pivotal period of violent colonization. Death and vengeance have rarely been depicted with such harrowing consequences in film before, so there's a high chance this film will upset you more than please you, but that's the point at the end of the day.
Admittedly, while the tone is not pretty in the slightest, the cinematography is gorgeously crafted, allowing the harsh regions of Tasmania to stick out through lush jungles and misty greenery. The choice to shoot around location keeps the time period as engagingly authentic as it is frightening from start to finish. The choice to keep much of the music sporadic and mostly in use during Clare's traumatic nightmares and the songs she and Mangana chant in honor of those who have passed on in their lives works in favor of letting bits of beauty and humanity seep within those who were damaged through no real fault of their own. Perhaps the one weak spot in the feature, besides how straight forward some of Clare and Mangano's journey is, is that the conclusion and climax might be a bit too abrupt to let us soak in much closure after such a devastating runtime. While it doesn't take away from the impact of the film's overall message and themes, it might come off as less emotionally resonating than one might imagine.
Regardless of any uncomfortable content or questionable storytelling choices, The Nightingale works well as a palpable revenge thriller disguised as a historical drama. Considering the history depicted in the film was often viewed as rubbish by many native Australians for years, Jennifer Kent and the filmmakers managed to leave a rightfully harrowing impact on viewer's senses all around. I would argue that this is not a film for the faint of heart, but it is one people should see to remind them just how awful historical colonization truly was to those who faced it from the effects of those who took over their lands.
Set in 1825 in Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania), the film follows a young Irish convict woman named Clare Carroll who seeks vengeance against the sadistic English Colonial Force Lieutenant Hawkins for assaulting her and murdering her family. She is aided by an Aboriginal Tasmanian tracker named Mangana who also seeks vengeance for the murderous Black War against his own people. As a period piece depicting genocide against the natives of Tasmania, the film is shockingly honest in how much it depicts history as what it really was. Much of the dialogue between the Aboriginal natives is in palawa kani, a first for a motion picture, and the brutality shown on screen allows us to emphasize with those we are not familiar with, not just Mangana. In addition, Clare being an Irish convict has every reason to go against the British as Mangana does once their friends and families are needlessly destroyed, and both Aisling Franciosi and Baykali Ganambarr work off well in overcoming their own prejudices to make for a sympathetic duo.
Now with this depicting such controversial subjects, your tolerance of what you see on screen may vary as this is not a film that will hold your hand in any way. On top of Sam Claflin's deplorably ruthless portrayal as Hawkins making one's skin crawl in nearly every scene he's in, many of his right hand men are more cowardly yet do what they can to go against anyone they abduct and mistreat. It's saying how unapologetically graphic this film is when its depictions of SA go beyond that of Clare herself, but the violence itself extends to people you would never expect from most thrillers. When even the most sympathetic people in the film make you relieved to see any semblance of humanity, you feel for Clare and Mangano's pleas for justice during such a pivotal period of violent colonization. Death and vengeance have rarely been depicted with such harrowing consequences in film before, so there's a high chance this film will upset you more than please you, but that's the point at the end of the day.
Admittedly, while the tone is not pretty in the slightest, the cinematography is gorgeously crafted, allowing the harsh regions of Tasmania to stick out through lush jungles and misty greenery. The choice to shoot around location keeps the time period as engagingly authentic as it is frightening from start to finish. The choice to keep much of the music sporadic and mostly in use during Clare's traumatic nightmares and the songs she and Mangana chant in honor of those who have passed on in their lives works in favor of letting bits of beauty and humanity seep within those who were damaged through no real fault of their own. Perhaps the one weak spot in the feature, besides how straight forward some of Clare and Mangano's journey is, is that the conclusion and climax might be a bit too abrupt to let us soak in much closure after such a devastating runtime. While it doesn't take away from the impact of the film's overall message and themes, it might come off as less emotionally resonating than one might imagine.
Regardless of any uncomfortable content or questionable storytelling choices, The Nightingale works well as a palpable revenge thriller disguised as a historical drama. Considering the history depicted in the film was often viewed as rubbish by many native Australians for years, Jennifer Kent and the filmmakers managed to leave a rightfully harrowing impact on viewer's senses all around. I would argue that this is not a film for the faint of heart, but it is one people should see to remind them just how awful historical colonization truly was to those who faced it from the effects of those who took over their lands.