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The Nightingale

2018

Jennifer Kent

Aisling Franciosi, Sam Claflin, Baykali Ganambarr, Damon Herriman ...

6.6

981

Drama. Adventure. Thriller 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.

	Media	Author	Review
		Guy Lodge Variety	"Kent’s revenge tale attains a near-mythic grandeur over the course of its arduous, ravishing trek (...) A pretty magnificent mass of movie."
		Ben Croll The Guardian	"The film marks a step forward for the Australian director in terms of ambition and scope. In execution, however, the songbird hits a few false notes (...) Still, it’s a noble effort (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"
		David Rooney The Hollywood Reporter	"It’s well-acted for the most part, vividly atmospheric and evocatively shot (...) [It] doesn’t quite fulfil the high expectations for Kent’s sophomore feature, it still shows muscular handle on her craft
		Michael Nordine IndieWire	"Franciosi delivers a remarkable performance in this brutal period piece (...) In its own way is more disturbing than its predecessor"
		Leonardo Goi The Film Stage	"One of the most memorable works in its genre – a parable that never turns violence into a spectacle, but is resolutely committed to expose the poisonous double prism of racism and sexism it feeds upon."
		Jessica Kiang The Playlist	"A few more shades of gray worked in to Kent’s script would have made it a more potent expression of anti-colonial rage (...) But there is far more to admire. The tangle of languages (...) cinematography is gorgeously pictorial"
		A. O. Scott The New York Times	"Though 'The Nightingale' is an effective history lesson, it is even more powerful as an ethical inquiry into the consequences of violence and the nature of justice."
		Thomas Humphrey Screen Anarchy	"[It] is not has been made so that people can feel comfortable. It is constructed entirely to force you to feel and confront the horrible realities of colonialism until you can no longer ignore it. As such, [it] is a success."
		Julian Wood FilmInk	"A work of conviction and has startling moments and performances."
		Jonathan Romney Screendaily	"Unfortunately, ambitious as it is, this historical revenge drama represents a step backwards in storytelling prowess from her dazzling debut"
		Meredith Borders Bloody Disgusting	"[I] is so gorgeously, urgently shot, so pressing and important, that a film set in 1820s Tasmania feels as current and present as possible.(…) Rating: ★★★★½ (out of 5)"
		Perri Nemiroff Collider	"A film that both shines and horrifies due to Kent’s attention to detail and respect for the material"
		Peter Travers Rolling Stone	"Jennifer Kent’s follow-up to ‘The Babadook’ turns a historical vengeance-quest into a stake through toxic masculinity’s heart (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"
		A.A. Dowd AV Club	"A great, harrowing Western (...) There’s a tragic, moving resonance to the film’s vision of two marginalized characters"
		Clarisse Loughrey The Independent	"A brutal, unflinching look at colonialism’s darkest impulses (...) A film that bruises the soul (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"
		Lewis Knight Mirror	"Gorgeously shot, highly tense, well-written and relentless (...) A brutal and haunting watch that will stay long in your memory (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"
		Rosie Fletcher Den of Geek	"A difficult, furious, beautiful and ambitious movie that apologises to no one (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"
		Tara Brady Irish Times	"This is an extraordinary film, powered by political and historical fury (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"
		Harry Guerin RTÉ	"Brilliant and hell-bent (...) The violence and racism are truly shocking, but there are also moments of astounding natural beauty, and unexpected tenderness (…) Rating: ★★★★½ (out of 5)"
		Sean O'Rourke Film Ireland	"Both lead actors are excellent (...) The film has done something truly special and is worthy of our rapt, horrified attention."
		James W. Anderson entertainment.ie	"[The script] is painfully generic and it fails to raise the horror into anything significant (...) It is serviceable and by no stretch of the imagination is it a bad film (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"

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