Whipping Boy

Sigrid Thornton is, as always, superb, this time in her role as a respected lawyer appointed to head a commission into child pornography. She is allowed the freedom to specially hand-pick her own team, on one condition: that rogue cop Temuera Morrison is part of it. This is just what she doesn't want: Morrison's career has been dogged by allegations of corruption for years, and with certain high-profile society leaders under investigation, she would prefer to have a team she can completely trust. The acting is okay (with the exception of Thornton - Morrison seems to be going through the paces), but the real value of this film is the shock-value: plugged as "the film that shocked Australia", it's a distressing, provocative film based on Gabrielle Lord's novel which was in turn based on some truth. Many may remember the scandals uncovered over the past decade or so when numerous judges, headmasters, doctors, lawyers, businessmen and priests were connected with secret "family"-style child pornography rackets. The film, although cinema-released, resembles more a telemovie than anything, and it suffers as a result. Rating: 6/10. See also: THE EVERLASTING SECRET FAMILY (1988).