The Nightingale

This film tells the story of a woman who seeks revenge in Australia two hundred years ago.

This is a very dark story, and is eerily engaging. Her experiences are highly traumatic, and there is just no way viewers can be immune to tears. I find myself rooting for her, and hoping her to get what she wants. It is a really good story, and acting by the lead characters is very convincing too.

This revenge film is not for everyone, to say the least. The story is great, but the movie is extremely violent. The first 30 minutes of the film are hard to see, and for a lot of people, even hard to tolerate. One could argue that the director needed all this violence to properly portray the abuse against women that occurred at that time. A powerful experience, from which we do not emerge unscathed

We were introduced to the film by one of the lead actors who advised us to "strap ourselves in", which I think was good advice. It does depict some horrific things done by humans to other humans, and a few people walked out of the screening in the first 10 minutes because by far the worst scenes are at the start.

But I recommend sticking with it as it's really about showing glimpses of humanity underneath murderous hatred in an extremely hostile environment. It is not simply a gleeful revenge thriller, despite the often cartoonish evil of the British soldiers and the Tarantino-esque levels of violence. When the revenge does come, it feels like a drop in the ocean of cruelty that surrounds it - by which I mean the everyday treatment of the aboriginal people by the white settlers and of women as property. The larger themes come through with crushing strength.

There isn't much in the way of humour or lightness here, but it manages to be a compelling and rewarding experience even if it feels a bit exhausting. You can tell it was a tough shoot - it's mostly set in the muddy, wet Australian bush - but like the actors I came out feeling it was worth it in the end.

This isn't an easy film to watch at times, but it's definitely one that is crucial and is very well done.

After Babadook, you'd be excused to expect another horror movie. But this filmmaker has other plans. And what intriguing and complicated plans they are. The story is really interesting and it does keep it real. With all the ugly faces it brings up. I am not sure about the evil character being "humanized", but I get what she is trying to say there too.

There are so many things, details in this well researched and well crafted movie, that I don't think everything will be seen the first time around. What you do have to go through (and I don't think this will get better with repeat viewing) are some very nasty and vile scenes happening to some of the characters you should care for. So this is anything but an easy film to watch. It is harrowing and it is draining. But in a sense it may also be "rewarding", if you consider the things it touches and brings forth ... every nation, every land, every country has their own fair share of dark history they probably don't like to be reminded of.

So tread lightly, be aware of the slow pace, but still brutal story(telling) ... and go on a dark journey ... Really dark!