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R.I.P. Sam Neill, plus A Cry in the Dark (1988)

 


Like many, I was deflated by the recent news of Sam Neill’s passing. Neill was a dependable class act: wry but reassuring, seemingly effortless but always switched on, never bad, always good. As a child of the 90s, Neill’s credits in that decade loom especially large in my mind, most obviously Jurassic Park but also The Piano, Hunt for Red October, In the Mouth of Madness, Memoirs of an Invisible Man, and so on. But there’s great work from Neill in every decade, and looking over his filmography I’m struck anew by the hefty volume of Antipodean titles he appeared in. He was the rare export star who didn’t just pay lip service to working locally, but genuinely threaded the needle and worked prolifically at home and abroad: in the 2000s, for instance, he starred in The Dish, Dirty Deeds, Perfect Strangers, Little Fish, Irresistible, Dean Spanley, and Daybreakers, among American and international assignments.

Neill’s passing prompted a revisit of A Cry in the Dark, Fred Schepisi’s dramatization of the disappearance of Azaria Chamberlain and subsequent trial – in both the law court and court of public opinion – of parents Lindy and Michael (Meryl Streep and Neill). I’d forgotten the film was produced by Cannon, and I’d argue it’s the best film produced by that colourful shingle, with all due respect to Runaway Train and less respect but much love to Masters of the Universe. This rewatch also elevated it to my favourite Schepisi film; the way he skilfully juxtaposes the “discourse” (to borrow a very contemporary term) surrounding the Chamberlains and its exacerbation by media with the very human drama of the mourning and maligned parents bowled me over on this viewing, and the film resonates stronger than ever in its depiction of prejudice and brute division blotting out empathy. Meryl Streep was dinged – mainly locally – for her Australian accent, but you know who else speaks with silly Australian accents? Actual Australians. It’s a terrific performance from Streep and matched in every set by Neill, who thoughtfully conveys Michael Chamberlain’s quiet turmoil.

I’ve covered quite a few Neill films over the years on Down Under Flix; my reviews – some brief, others more detailed – are listed below, in order of the films’ releases. Neill is mentioned only briefly in some of these reviews, but suffice to say he’s characteristically excellent in all of them, and the list speaks to the variety of his work and roles. 
Attack Force Z (1981)
Plenty (1985)
Until the End of the World (1991)
Sirens (1993)
The Hunter (2011)
Rams (2020)
Ride Like a Girl (2020)
Rest in Peace.

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