The Nightingale (2018)

Drama, Thriller, Adventure

Director: Jennifer Kent
Writer: Jennifer Kent
Starring: Sam Claflin, Aisling Franciosi, Baykali Ganambarr, Damon Herriman

"Her song will not be silenced."

A meditation on the consequences of violence and the price of seeking vengeance.

Set during the colonization of Australia in 1825, The Nightingale follows Clare, a 21-year-old Irish convict. Having served her 7-year sentence, she is desperate to be free of her abusive master, Lieutenant Hawkins, who refuses to release her from his charge. Clare's husband Aidan retaliates and she becomes the victim of a harrowing crime at the hands of the lieutenant and his cronies. When British authorities fail to deliver justice, Clare decides to pursue Hawkins, who leaves his post suddenly to secure a captaincy up north. Unable to find compatriots for her journey, she is forced to enlist the help of a young Aboriginal tracker Billy, who grudgingly takes her through the rugged wilderness to track down Hawkins. The terrain and the prevailing hostilities are frightening, as fighting between the original inhabitants of the land and its colonizers plays out in what is now known as "The Black War." Clare and Billy are hostile towards each other from the outset, both suffering their own traumas and mutual distrust, but as their journey leads them deeper into the wilderness, they must learn to find empathy for one another, while weighing the true cost of revenge

Plot summary from IMDb: Set in 1825, Clare, a young Irish convict woman, chases a British officer through the rugged Tasmanian wilderness, bent on revenge for a terrible act of violence he committed against her family. On the way she enlists the services of an Aboriginal tracker named Billy, who is also marked by trauma from his own violence-filled past.

Awards: N/A
Runtime: 136 min
R