Plot
The story of a mother whose child was killed in an animal attack, only to have herself accused of the infant's murder
Release Year: 1988
Rating: 6.9/10 (3,822 voted)
Director:
Fred Schepisi
Stars: Meryl Streep, Sam Neill, Dale Reeves
Storyline Based on the true story of Lindy Chamberlain. During a camping trip to Ayers Rock in outback Australia, she claimed that she witnessed a dingo stealing her baby daughter, Azaria, from the family tent. Azaria's body was never found. Police noted some apparent inconsistencies in her story, and she was charged with murder. The case attracted a lot of attention, turning an investigation into a media circus, with the public divided in their opinions.
Writers: John Bryson, Robert Caswell
Cast: Meryl Streep
-
Lindy Chamberlain
Sam Neill
-
Michael Chamberlain
Dale Reeves
-
Aidan, 6 years
David Hoflin
-
Aidan, 8 years
Jason Reason
-
Aidan, 11 years
Michael Wetter
-
Reagan, 4 years
Kane Barton
-
Reagan, 6 years
Trent Roberts
-
Reagan, 9 years
Lauren Shepherd
-
Azaria
Bethany Ann Prickett
-
Azaria
Alison O'Connell
-
Azaria
Aliza Dason
-
Azaria
Jane Coker
-
Kahlia, new born
Rae-Leigh Henson
-
Kahlia, 18 months
Nicolette Minster
-
Kahlia, 4 years
Taglines:
A family torn apart. A public filled with outrage. A woman accused of murder.
Filming Locations: Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia
Box Office Details
Budget: $15,000,000
(estimated)
Gross: $6,908,797
(USA)
Technical Specs
Runtime:|
(dvd release)
Did You Know?
Trivia:
Last cinema film of Dorothy Alison.
Quotes: Lindy Chamberlain:
I'm told, "Don't talk like you normally talk. Watch how you hold your mouth. You look too sour and crabby. Don't get angry. Don't ask too many questions, or they think you're trying to be smart. And never, never, never laugh or you're an uncaring bitch." Well, I can't cry to order, and I won't be squashed into some dumb act for the public... or for you.
User Review
‘Evil Angel' is a fitting tribute to the Chamberlain's and the death of baby Azaria.
Rating:
If there is any Australian that I feel sorrier for, it would have to be
Lindy Chamberlain. Her compelling story is one of the more famous court
cases in Australian history. Also known as ‘A cry in the dark', ‘Evil Angel'
shows how divided the Australian public really were towards this case and
how the media can manipulate a story, by favouring just one side of a story
that they believe is the whole truth. When I hear the cry ‘The dingo's got
my baby', it brings back memories from along time ago.
During a camping trip, an infant disappears from her family's tent. When the
child's mother spies a dingo nearby, authorities launch a frantic search,
but all they find is a torn, bloodied garment. The press, distressed by the
mother's seeming "lack of emotion", and suspicious of her religious beliefs,
begin to accuse her of murdering the baby. The sentiment against her begins
to grow, and soon the whole continent is talking about the case. Despite the
lack of evidence, the woman is imprisoned; although investigators eventually
re-examine her story, the damage is done: the innocent mother's relationship
with her husband has been irreparably destroyed. This is the documentary
style film adaptation of the true story of Lindy and Michael
Chamberlain.
This film has some truly amazing performance in it. Meryl Streep is a
wonderful actress, but in this film she does so much that you just have to
like. She really becomes ‘Lindy' and embodies what she actually went
through. I remember reading that Streep had to have speaking classes, so she
could sound ‘Australian', which she does very well. But it is her persona I
like the most. Streep performance as Chamberlain is so flawless, as she
shows no emotion when she is going in and out of court, which is what the
real Lindy Chamberlain did. It is understandable that the general public
would think that Lindy is guilty of murder, which is again testament to
Streep's masterful performance. However in court Lindy is visibly upset,
when she has to recall the night a dingo took her baby.
The other performance which is most noteworthy is that of Sam Neill. While
Neill has gone on to do many big performances in Hollywood blockbusters such
as ‘Jurassic Park' and the Aussie favourite ‘The Dish', this is one film I
continue to remember him from. I like how we see that Michael is visibly
distressed by the whole court case scenario, with him stumbling through the
interrogation when he is on the stand. It is also most taxing on the
couple's personal life, with Michael the first one to crack.
Yet there are some famous Australian cameos from many actors in ‘Evil
Angel'. Look at these for names; Maurie Fields, Charles ‘Bud' Tingwell, John
Howard, Frankie J. Holden, Mark Little, Mark Mitchell, Glenn Robbins and Kym
Gyngell. All of them are well known personalities in Australian TV, and it
is of great significance to this story to have such great fame among the
cast of this film.
Director/Screenwriter of ‘Evil Angel' Fred Schepisi does justice to this
story in many ways. Firstly, Schepisi and co screenwriter Robert Caswell
stuck very close to the story written by John Bryson. Then Schepisi directs
this film in quite a unique way. He points the story in many ways, showing
the Chamberlain's in one shot, then to the media, then to the general
public. This amount of change gives the film great variety, which is good.
If it was fixated with just the Chamberlains, this movie could have had
major problems.
I also like the many shots of Australia that this film shows off. Having
this tragedy take place in the Northern territory, certainly gave that state
and its famous attraction Ayers Rock (Uluru) some sort reputation, as this
film does too. Yet there are some excellent shots in Alice Springs, Darwin
and in the Chamberlain's home-town (for some time) of Mt. Isa in Queensland.
This is good work of cinematographer Ian Baker.
So with all those factors taken into consideration, this film looks deep
into what it must be like to go through the loss of a baby child, taken by a
wild animal. It also a fascinating insight into what the media can do to
turn a story and how merciless people can be towards someone that in all
possibility could be ‘innocent'. Although it is 22 years since this horrible
event has happened, I realise that Chamberlain's lives were, and probably
never will be the same again. Michael and Lindy had to go through the most
painful of divorces, and their children had to go grow up with a large
amount of innuendo attached to their lives. I am thankful that Lindy
Chamberlain was released from prison, after serving three and a half years
of a life imprisonment sentence for a crime which she did not commit.
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