A barrister visiting a town in Western Australian town battles police corruption and the silence of the locals to help a teenage girl seek justice against a gang of young rapists.A barrister visiting a town in Western Australian town battles police corruption and the silence of the locals to help a teenage girl seek justice against a gang of young rapists.A barrister visiting a town in Western Australian town battles police corruption and the silence of the locals to help a teenage girl seek justice against a gang of young rapists.
- Director
- Writers
- Stars
- Awards
- 3 wins total
Bill McCluskey
- Ross
- (as Bill McClusky)
Stig Wemyss
- Bobby
- (as Graeme 'Stig' Wemyss)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
I remember watching this on tv several times in the 80's as a young girl just a few years younger than the character of Lizzie. I also lived in WA, so I have always found this grim and realistic to watch.
Rewatched for the first time as an adult now in my 40's - I still find this a powerful and important film. It's obviously dated, but it is just perfect honestly.
Once again I found myself near tears over Lizzie's fate and so angry that things like that can and do happen. I hope not to that extent in this day and age.
It's funny i normally watch a trailer before i watch the movie but i saw this on prime and just automatically saw the blurb and i took a chance i am so glad I did! An amazing cast, it was so real and brought such important struggles to life that girls and women and men struggle with on a daily basis i didn't expect that ending at all i was just left in shock and crying my eyes out, just fantastic!
An excellent and absorbing Australian drama made and released in 1987, SHAME featuring Deborah Lee Furness is a genuine surprise powerhouse thriller. She plays a lawyer having a solo motorbike riding holiday when to her alarm, she gets trapped in a misogynistic country town. Local louts see her as "fair game" and then find the tables turned when her legal talons return to jail them for their brute behavior. A great role for any woman SHAME is well played by the talented and tough Furness. Interesting teen actor Simone Buchanan seen in the wonderful kids movie RUN REBECCA RUN is a local girl also terrorized by the boys.It is a combination of events against town women that sees Furness take a very tough legal stand, making the Civic leaders and their boozy blokes world accountable for this social damage. Possibly inspired by news items and well directed by Steve Jodrell, a (later) TV-only director SHAME did not get a big release thus crippling its initial available audience. Not screened on TV or profiled much after 1989, SHAME might benefit from a remake if the dynamics of this small taut film were slightly enlarged. Furness is the happy wife of Broadway performer and cinema X Man Hugh Jackman which is possibly why she is not seen on screens very often anymore.. A DVD release for SHAME is long overdue. A remake is also welcome. It is a good story and great pieces for strong unknown new actors. Other Australian films as strong similar references are THE BOYS and THE CARS THAT ATE Paris.
Wasn't sure going into this whether it would be a good film or not. I was leaning to the latter.
I just don't remember anything about it when it came out (I would of been 16) and not really the type of movie I would of been into at the time.
But very glad I have finally seen it now....well worth watching.
Very realistic of some Australian country towns of the time where women/girls were treated this way.
I was surprised at how good this film actually is.
I thought the acting was good and Deborah Lee Furness and Simone Buchanan were great.
A very moving film especially if you have a young daughter.
I was surprised at how good this film actually was.....wish I'd watched it sooner!
I just don't remember anything about it when it came out (I would of been 16) and not really the type of movie I would of been into at the time.
But very glad I have finally seen it now....well worth watching.
Very realistic of some Australian country towns of the time where women/girls were treated this way.
I was surprised at how good this film actually is.
I thought the acting was good and Deborah Lee Furness and Simone Buchanan were great.
A very moving film especially if you have a young daughter.
I was surprised at how good this film actually was.....wish I'd watched it sooner!
The story starts out with a lone woman (Ester Cartel) on a motorbike traveling the open roads in outback Australia. She unfortunately becomes involved with circumstance (in the wrong place at the wrong time scenario)
.she drops her bike, which causes substantial damage. Arriving at the nearest township she encounters an ugly dominate force amongst the local young males. With her bike out of commission she has no other alternative but to seek accommodation (for a while) with the family of the mechanic from where she has ordered parts for her bike.
Gradually she learns that the population of this quaint little town consists of social bigotry, chauvinism, and apathy. Women are on the menu and the 'boys' think they can do anything they like to them without being punished. The so-called law enforcement is led by an incompetent police captain and the parents to these louts show no disciplinary measures to curb their children's behaviour. It sure does demonstrate how a small community can become feral out of pure boredom.
If you're looking for big screen names you probably won't find them in this production, I'm certain they're not well known outside Australia. One exception though would be Debra Lee Furness (the main character); she's married to Aussie actor Hugh Jackman. The entire cast pulled their weight to create a film with a fair bit of 'clout' and it made quite a noise when it was released. It certainly doesn't depict the idyllic country life associated with much of Australia and it wasn't afraid to show a different side either...(whether it's true or not is another thing).
The reason why I liked the film so much was because of the leading character. She was strong and defiant in what she thought was right, very similar to Ellen Ripley from Alien. I don't know why I find strong female characters so appealing, more than likely I'm fed up with the usual woman in distress roles.
Watch this if you enjoy strong female roles such as; Erin Brockovich, or G.I Jane.
Gradually she learns that the population of this quaint little town consists of social bigotry, chauvinism, and apathy. Women are on the menu and the 'boys' think they can do anything they like to them without being punished. The so-called law enforcement is led by an incompetent police captain and the parents to these louts show no disciplinary measures to curb their children's behaviour. It sure does demonstrate how a small community can become feral out of pure boredom.
If you're looking for big screen names you probably won't find them in this production, I'm certain they're not well known outside Australia. One exception though would be Debra Lee Furness (the main character); she's married to Aussie actor Hugh Jackman. The entire cast pulled their weight to create a film with a fair bit of 'clout' and it made quite a noise when it was released. It certainly doesn't depict the idyllic country life associated with much of Australia and it wasn't afraid to show a different side either...(whether it's true or not is another thing).
The reason why I liked the film so much was because of the leading character. She was strong and defiant in what she thought was right, very similar to Ellen Ripley from Alien. I don't know why I find strong female characters so appealing, more than likely I'm fed up with the usual woman in distress roles.
Watch this if you enjoy strong female roles such as; Erin Brockovich, or G.I Jane.
Did you know
- TriviaCo-screenwriter Michael Brindley said in an interview with David Stratton in his book 'The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry' (1990): ''Women still come up to us and thank us for writing a film that means so much to them, it really did touch a lot of people.''
- SoundtracksHe's My Man
Composed and Arranged by Lucky Oceans
- How long is Shame?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- A$1,650,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 34 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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