Skip to main content

Dead Heart (1996)



Published 2016 on Down Under Flix

 Director: Nick Parsons
Stars: Bryan Brown, Ernie Dingo, Aaron Pedersen, Angie Milliken
I first watched Dead Heart back in 2000, as part of a course at university. In recent days I’ve been thinking back on all the other Australian films I studied at university (in a degree comprising various screen and literature courses, including one specifically on Australian cinema, there were quite a few) and pondering where those films have landed, culturally speaking, in subsequent years. Wake in Fright, which we watched on a scratchy, dog-eared print, has enjoyed a critical and cultural resurgence in recent years and is soon to be adapted for television by the director of Red Dog. Other films, such as A Sunday Too Far Away and Two Hands, have sort of plateaued, remaining constant in their standing. And others like Dead Heart, then only a few years old, have faded from the spotlight and aren’t really part of the cultural conversation. In this particular case, it’s a shame, because Dead Heart is an excellent flick. 
The film takes place in Walla Walla, a small outback town with a predominantly Indigenous population. Ray Lorkin (Bryan Brown) is a senior police officer imposing “white fella” law on the local Indigenous community, with priest David (Ernie Dingo) a middleman between the white and black citizens. Ray’s approach to maintaining order incurs the wrath of Aboriginal elder Poppy (Gnarnayarrahe Waitairie). Also incurring Poppy’s anger is Tony (Aaron Pedersen), a young Indigenous man having an affair with white woman Kate (Angie Milliken), wife of the local schoolteacher Les (Lewis Fitz-Gerald). When Tony is killed, Ray is tasked with investigating, leading to further clashes with Poppy, the black community, and his white counterparts.
Dead Heart originated as a stage play scripted by Nick Parsons and mounted by Belvoir St Theatre. Parsons adapted and directed his play for the screen, and the film has the thematic texture and meat of a sturdy piece of theatre. Characters are layered, flawed but sympathetic, and Parsons uses them as vehicles to showcase different perspectives on – and pose provocative questions about – contemporary and historical black-white relations. Ray’s approach to imposing white law is patriarchal and dictatorial, and for much of the film he appears a blatant racist, but his hard line approach stems from a compassion and conviction that he’s doing the right thing, however warped and misguided. Parsons and Brown don’t shy away from the inherent ugliness of much of what Ray does, but are also empathetic to a degree. Similarly, Poppy’s machinations against Ray are not painted in a flattering light, but are justified as a survival mechanism within the context of lifelong injustices suffered. Multiple other vantage points are expressed in the film, each shaded and sympathetic in some way: there’s David, divided between his Christian faith and black heritage, neither white fella nor black fella but “just a fella”; Tony, fond of his country but thoroughly modern and heedless towards traditions; Les, earnest in his liking of the land and mission to educate but fatally ill-suited to his environment; and Kate, who finds romantic solace in these harsh surrounds but in doing so betrays her husband and violates local customs. 
While Dead Heart has the texture of a play, this screen adaptation never feels theatrical. This is partly due to the fact that much of the action transpires in exteriors rather than interiors, ensuring no creaky stage-bound quality sets in. But on top of that, the film feels cinematic, particularly in its editing: see, for example, a scene that cuts back & forth between one of David’s services and Tony and Kate’s tryst in a sacred site, making excellent use of montage, composition, sound, and juxtaposition. Whilst there’s a certain formal inelegance to Dead Heart compared to other recent depictions of Aboriginal experiences on film – see, for example, recent films by Ivan Sen and Rolf de Heer – those rough edges are fitting to the tone of the film and the town & environs of Walla Walla: coarse, severe, and fraught with tensions.
Bryan Brown is such a staple of Australian film, and so seemingly effortless in his delivery, that it’s easy to forget how enormously talented he is. While he has a “type” that he frequently errs towards, Ray is a complex creation and Brown invests him with gravitas. Pedersen is extremely charismatic in his fleeting screentime, and Dingo, Waitairie, Milliken, Fitz-Gerald, and the rest of the cast (including John Jarratt in a minor role as an opportunistic academic) are uniformly first-rate.
Dead Heart is excellent and criminally underrated. It has thematic heft, muscular filmmaking, strong performances, and the provocative questions it poses remain pertinent twenty years later. Plus it’s a terrific thriller. A sound investment of your time.
Ben Kooyman

Popular posts from this blog

John Hargreaves double feature: Hoodwink (1981) and Sky Pirates (1986)

Published 2017 on Down Under Flix Discounting the film  Blackfellas , in which he plays a minor role as a racist policeman, I’m surprised it’s taken this long to cover any John Hargreaves films on Down Under Flix. A six time AFI Award nominee (including for  Hoodwink ) and triple winner, Hargreaves is one of the best leading men to emerge from the Australian New Wave, and I have particular regard for his work in  Don’s Party,   Long Weekend , and  The Odd Angry Shot . Hargreaves was a natural performer: gifted and charismatic, but not unnecessarily flashy; handsome, but not movie star handsome, and slightly crumpled like a creased jacket. He was a quintessential Australian everyman ala Jack Thompson and Bryan Brown, though he’s less familiar to young filmgoers today, partly due to his untimely passing in 1996 at age 50. This article looks at one of Hargreaves’ best films… and one of his other films… 
Read more

Lonely Hearts (1982)

Published 2017 on Down Under Flix Director:  Paul Cox Stars:  Norman Kaye, Wendy Hughes, Jon Finlayson, Julia Blake, Jonathan Hardy This review serves as a somewhat belated tribute to the late John Clarke, who passed away back in April (make that  very  belated…). As one of Australia’s sharpest, savviest satirists, Clarke’s reach and legacy were impressive, as noted in many of the more punctual tributes following his death ( this one is particularly good ). While not his most famous commodities, Clarke was no slouch on the film front, contributing memorable supporting turns in films like  Death in Brunswick  and Crackerjack  and co-writing two features with another late luminary, director Paul Cox, 1982’s  Lonely Hearts  and 1996’s  Lust and Revenge . 
Read more

Manganinnie (1980) and Blackfellas (1993)

Published 2017 on Down Under Flix Manganinnie Director:  John Honey Stars:  Mawuyul Yanthalawuy, Anna Ralph, Phillip Hinton, Elaine Mangan When Down Under Flix  surveyed readers on their Australian film viewing habits last year , 1980’s  Manganinnie  was the least seen film about Indigenous Australians (98%) and tied with 2003’s  Subterano  (also 98%) as the least seen film of the survey. But where sci-fi chiller  Subterano  arguably never made a dent in the first place,  Manganinnie  was the first production (of just two, alas) of the Tasmanian Film Corporation, was nominated for five AFI Awards including Best Film, Director, and Actress, and made a modest profit. However, the film has been somewhat forgotten, dwarfed in the popular consciousness by other releases of its era such as  My Brilliant Career ,  Mad Max , and  Breaker Morant , films that are outwardly more stylish and accessible. 
Read more