Previous spread:Clare (Aisling Franciosi)This spread, L–R:Billy (Baykali Ganambarr); Clare; Lieutenant Hawkins (Sam Claflin)WithTheNightingale(2018),herfollow-uptotheacclaimed
TheBabadook(2014),writer/directorJenniferKentcon-
tributestotheongoingcinematicprocessofreframing
Australia’scloselyheldmythologyaroundcolonisationand
nationhoodasonerootedin a genocidalwarofattrition.
Whilethemostrecent,andstark,manifestationofthispro-
cesswasseenin WarwickThornton’sSweetCountry(2017),
wecanalsolooktoolderexamplessuchasJohnHillcoat’s
TheProposition(2005),RolfdeHeer’sTheTracker(2002),
FredSchepisi’sTheChantofJimmieBlacksmith(1978)and
more.Yet,whileTheNightingaledoesfollowin thefootsteps
ofthesegrimhistoricaldramas,it is also,arguably,angrier
andmoreambitious.A relentlesslyconfrontingandviolent
dramain the rape-revengemodel,the film seeksnot just
to dramatise the inherently oppressive policies enacted by
BritishinvadingforcesduringAustralia’scolonialperiod,
but to contextualisethem as part of an ongoingcampaign
of subjugationagainstIndigenouspeoplesand other min-
orities– women,immigrants,those in subservientroles.
Setin 1820sVanDiemen’sLand(nowTasmania),The
Nightingaletells the story of Irish convictClare (Aisling
Franciosi).AlthoughmarriedtofreedconvictAidan(Michael
Sheasby),withwhomshehasaninfantdaughter,sheis
keptin a stateofeffectivesexualslaverybyLieutenant
Hawkins(Sam Claflin),the officerin chargeof the local gar-
rison, who refusesto finaliseher emancipationafter she has
finishedher sentence.Frustratedafter he is turneddown
foranexpectedpromotionandangeredaftera drunkAidan
accosts him, Hawkins and his men rape Clare and viciously
harmherfamily,beforedepartingfora punishingoverland
trektoLauncestonin a last-ditchattempttoappealhispro-
motion.Clare,bent on vengeance,takes Aidan’shorse and
setsoffin pursuit,enlistingtheaidofa reluctant,belligerent
Aboriginaltracker,Billy (BaykaliGanambarr).Their journey
takesthemintotheheartofthe‘BlackWar’,a genocidal
campaignagainstIndigenousTasmanians.^1
TheNightingaleis,shockinglyandnecessarily,even
more brutal than it soundson paper.In terms of graphic
content,itstonalprecursorsarenotthesweepingperiod
dramasofyesteryearbutdeliberatelyprovocativeexploita-
tion films – Meir Zarchi’sI SpitonYourGrave(1978),which
followsa similarrape-revengeplotline,orGasparNoé’s
Irreversible(2002),whichcounterswhatitsdirectorhas
viewed as a cavalier attitude towards sexual violence inmainstreamcinemaby presentinga rape in as unflinchinga
manneraspossible.^2 Certainly,TheNightingale’s depictions
of violence– sexualor otherwise– are just as horrifyingas
anythingseenin theserathernotoriousearlierworks.But
theseriousnessofpurposewithwhichKentapproaches
them bringsto mind the literaryworksof CormacMcCarthy,
whosenovelssuchas2006’sTheRoad(adaptedintoa
2009 film, directedby Hillcoat)and 1985’sBloodMeridian
combinelinguisticlyricismandthematiccomplexity with
frequent,stunninginstancesofbrutality.
Kent’sfilm is as carefullyconstructedas any of McCarthy’s
novels.Thesoundtrackis bereftofnon-diegeticmusic,the
directorsteadfastlyrefusingto cue our emotionswith an in-
trusive score (though Jed Kurzel – who also scored JustinTHEFILMSEEKSNOTJUSTTODRAMATISETHEINHERENTLYOPPRESSIVE
POLICIESENACTED... DURINGAUSTRALIA’SCOLONIALPERIOD,BUT
TOCONTEXTUALISETHEMASPARTOFANONGOINGCAMPAIGNOF
SUBJUGATIONAGAINSTINDIGENOUSPEOPLESANDOTHER MINORITIES- WOMEN, IMMIGRANTS, THOSE IN SUBSERVIENT ROLES.
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