Shame (1988 film)

Last updated

Shame
Shame(1998) film poster.jpg
US film poster
Directed by Steve Jodrell
Written byBeverly Blankenship
Michael Brindley
Produced byDamien Parer
Paul D. Barron
Starring Deborra-Lee Furness
Tony Barry
Simone Buchanan
Gillian Jones
CinematographyJoseph Pickering
Edited byKerry Regan
Music by Mario Millo
Production
companies
Barron Films
UAA Films
Distributed by Hoyts Distribution
Release date
February 26, 1988
Running time
94 minutes
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
BudgetA$1.65 million [1] [2]

Shame is a 1988 Australian drama film directed by Steve Jodrell and written by Beverly Blankenship [3] and Michael Brindley.

Contents

Deborra-Lee Furness stars as Asta Cadell, a barrister from Perth on a solo motorcycle trip through the Australian countryside. When her bike is damaged, she is forced to stay in a rural town while waiting for replacement parts. While there, she learns of the unsettling nature of the town, where the residents turn a blind eye to the young men's constant harassment and sexual assault of the town's young women. [4]

Plot

After her motorbike breaks down during a lone tour of outback Western Australia, vacationing barrister Asta Cadell is forced to stay in the small fictitious township of Ginborak while she waits for replacement parts.

On arriving in the town, she immediately receives catcalls and sexually suggestive comments from many of the town's men. The town's sergeant, Wal Cuddy, dismisses her concerns and suggests that she not stay in the town long.

Cadell arrives at the home and shop of the local mechanic, Tim Curtis, and though originally dismissed by the Curtis' apprentice, is allowed to borrow the mechanics' tools to work on her bike. Cadell asks him to allow her to stay in his guest house while she waits for the parts to arrive and he assents, rejecting her offer of money. The room is set out for her by Curtis' short tempered mother, Norma, and Cadell is lying down to sleep when Curtis' wife arrives home with her daughter Lizzie who is visibly shaken.

Later that night, Curtis and his wife exit their house mid fight, and Lizzie runs off into the night, crying. Cadell finds and comforts the young girl.

Cadell's assertive personality brings her into conflict with the bullying female owner of a meat-processing factory and with the ruthless group of young men who have gang-raped several girls in the town. The youths turn their unpleasant attentions to her, from which she vigorously defends herself, inflicting injuries on some of the boys. She complains to the police sergeant, who explains that the boys are simply having fun, and threatens Cadell with an assault charge, at which she reveals she is a barrister and not an easy target for his corrupt behaviour. She begins to speak more openly and energetically, in public and private, about the scandalous affairs which she has learned are occurring in this isolated town.

She becomes a role-model and source of strength to the violated and injusticed Lizzie, whose own father even struggles to deny the truth of what has happened under his very nose. Championed on by Cadell, little by little, Lizzie draws upon enough courage to begin both straying further from the safety of her own house, and confronting her own father about his denial.

But even her own house and family become targets for the blind rage which erupts when the young violators and their complacent parents learn that Cadell and Lizzie mean business—they are intent on pressing charges to get the boys imprisoned.

The women of the town come together as they fight back against the rapists. Unfortunately it is all too late for Lizze. As she hides in the police station while the town fights the drunken lads attacking the Curtis household, two of the boys find her. Despite screams of help she is whisked away in their car. Lizzie tries to escape only to be thrown onto the road and killed. In the final scene the town of Ginaborak stands in silence as her body is placed in the back of a truck.

Awards

Due to an administrative error, Shame was made ineligible for the 1988 Australian Film Institute awards. [4]

AwardCategorySubjectResultReference
Film Critics Circle of Australia Best ScreenplayBeverley Blankenship, Michael BrindleyWon [5]
Film Critics Circle of AustraliaBest Actor - Female Deborra-Lee Furness Won [5]
Seattle International Film Festival Best ActressDeborra-Lee FurnessWon

Cast

Production

Beverley Blankenship saw Mad Max and became excited about the idea of writing a film about a woman on a motorcycle. She discussed it with Michael Brindley and decided to make a modern-day Western. Blankenship wrote an eleven-page treatment which got finance from the Women's Film Fund for a first draft. They offered the script to Joan Long who was busy on other projects but then Paul Barron read a draft and became enthusiastic. Steve Jodrell became attached as director. [2] Jodrell:

No-one really wanted to touch it because they couldn't work out what it was about. It was not quite entertaining; it was a little bit too art-house; it was a message film, and yet Michael and Beverly Blenkinship had always designed the film as a kind of B grade drive-in movie. They did not want it to end up in an art-house circuit. They wanted it to be an action flick that had some things to say in it, so that they get to the kind of demographic that they were appealing to, which was young teenagers and people in their twenties - and actually hoping the girls would drag the men along and, therefore, get across what they wanted to say. [6]

Jodrell says that three weeks prior to shooting, the financiers had commissioned a new draft to be written, in which Asta was far more violent and vigilante-like. However it was not used. [6]

The movie was shot over six weeks on location at Toodyay in Western Australia on Super 16mm. [2]

Release

Shame was released on February 26, 1988, [4] in Perth and received a video release on March 22, 1989.

Jodrell says the financiers were not supportive of the final film but Paul Barron managed to find investors to buy out their interests, enabling the movie to be theatrically released. [6]

Between 1988 and 1992, the film appeared at several film festivals including Vancouver International Film Festival (1988), Uppsala International Short Film Festival (1988), Seattle International Film Festival (1988), Santa Barbara International Film Festival (1988), New Directors New Films (1988), London Film Festival (1988), Houston International Film and Video Festival (1988), Hof International Film Festival(1988), Edinburgh International Film Festival (1988), Cork Film Festival (1988), Chicago International Film Festival (1988), International Film Festival Of India (1989), Hong Kong International Film Festival (1989), Centre Georges Pompidou, Australian - Pompidou Event (1991), Verona Film Festival (1992), and Strictly Oz - A History of Australian Film (1995). [7]

The film was remade for TV in USA in 1992. The remake stars English actress Amanda Donohoe. Australian telemovie Natural Justice: Heat (1996) has further adventures of Asta as portrayed by Claudia Karvan. [8]

National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA) announced in 2017 that it would release a digitally restored version of Shame as part of its NFSA Restores initiative, which would be premiered at the 2017 Melbourne International Film Festival. [7] In response to the restoration, director Steve Jordell quoted, "It has an immaculate freshness and luminosity that reminds me of its initial screening almost 30 years ago. There’s a powerful message in the film – sadly, one that is even more relevant today than when it was first released." [9]

Home media

Shame was released on DVD by Umbrella Entertainment in May 2011. The DVD is compatible with all region codes and includes special features such as the original theatrical trailer, interviews with Steve Jodrell, Simone Buchanan and Michael Brindley, and an interview with Deborra-Lee Furness. [10] In 2021, Umbrella released a Blu-ray edition of Shame with further extra features, including two feature-length audio commentaries.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lizzie Borden (director)</span> American filmmaker

Lizzie Borden is an American filmmaker, best known for her early independent films Born in Flames (1983) and Working Girls (1986).

<i>Cinema Paradiso</i> 1988 film by Giuseppe Tornatore

Cinema Paradiso is a 1988 coming-of-age drama film written and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore.

<i>Dear Frankie</i> 2004 Scottish film

Dear Frankie is a 2004 British drama film directed by Shona Auerbach and starring Emily Mortimer, Gerard Butler, Jack McElhone, and Sharon Small. The screenplay by Andrea Gibb focuses on a young single mother whose love for her son prompts her to perpetuate a deception designed to protect him from the truth about his father.

<i>Age of Consent</i> (film) 1969 film

Age of Consent is a 1969 romantic comedy-drama film directed by Michael Powell. The film stars James Mason, Helen Mirren in her first major film role, and Jack MacGowran, and features actress Neva Carr Glyn. The screenplay by Peter Yeldham was adapted from the 1938 semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by Norman Lindsay, who died the year this film was released.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deborra-Lee Furness</span> Australian actress and producer (born 1955)

Deborra-Lee Furness Jackman, is an Australian actress and producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claudia Karvan</span> Australian actress (born 1972)

Claudia Karvan is an Australian actress and producer. As a child actor, she first appeared in the film Molly (1983) and followed with an adolescent role in High Tide (1987). She portrayed a teacher in The Heartbreak Kid (1993) – the film was spun off into a TV series, Heartbreak High (1994–1999), with her character taken over by Sarah Lambert. Karvan's roles in television series include The Secret Life of Us (2001–2005), Love My Way (2004–2007), Newton's Law (2017) and Halifax: Retribution (2020). She won Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Television Drama at the AFI Awards for her appearance in G.P. (1996). She won two similar AFI Awards for her role in Love My Way and in 2014 for her work in The Time of Our Lives (2013–2014). As a co-producer and co-writer on Love My Way, she won three further AFI Awards for Best Drama Series in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Karvan was inducted into the Australian Film Walk of Fame in 2007 in acknowledgment of her contributions to the Australian film and television industry. From 2010 to 2011, she starred in the drama series Spirited, which she co-created and was executive producer. She appeared as Judy Vickers in Puberty Blues. Karvan has co-produced House of Hancock and Doctor Doctor (2016–2021). In 2021 she co-created, co-produced and starred in the TV drama series, Bump.

<i>Stories of Lost Souls</i> 2005 American film

Stories of Lost Souls is an anthology film starring Josh Hartnett, Hugh Jackman, Keira Knightley, Cate Blanchett, James Gandolfini, Paul Bettany, Illeana Douglas and directed by eight different directors including Deborra-Lee Furness and Mark Palansky.

<i>Jindabyne</i> (film) 2006 Australian drama film

Jindabyne is a 2006 Australian drama film by third time feature director Ray Lawrence and starring Gabriel Byrne, Laura Linney, Deborra-Lee Furness and John Howard. Jindabyne was filmed entirely on location in and around the Australian country town of the same name: Jindabyne, New South Wales, situated next to the Snowy Mountains.

<i>Picnic at Hanging Rock</i> (film) 1975 film by Peter Weir

Picnic at Hanging Rock is a 1975 Australian mystery film directed by Peter Weir and based on the 1967 novel Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay. Cliff Green adapted the novel into a screenplay. The film stars Rachel Roberts, Dominic Guard, Helen Morse, Vivean Gray and Jacki Weaver. The plot involves the disappearance of several schoolgirls and their teacher during a picnic at Hanging Rock, Victoria on Valentine's Day in 1900, and the subsequent effect on the local community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tahyna MacManus</span> Australian actor and model

Tahyna MacManus is an Australian actress, director, writer and producer. Tahyna starred in several television series and film blockbusters including X-Men Origins: Wolverine before moving to roles behind the lens focusing on directing and producing. Tahyna co-founded an all female led production company, Neon Jane Productions alongside producer Kelly Tomasich. In 2020 the duo launched The Australian Womens Film Festival, a short film festival celebrating women in film and honouring those who have made a significant contribution to the industry.

The Film Critics Circle of Australia (FCCA) is an association of cinema critics and reviewers. It includes journalists in "media, television, major national and state papers, radio, national and state, online and freelance writers, Australian representatives from international magazines..and local specialist film magazines", and is based in Sydney.

<i>Bliss</i> (1985 film) 1985 Australian drama film

Bliss is a 1985 Australian comedy-drama film directed by Ray Lawrence, and co-written by Lawrence and Peter Carey, based on Carey's 1981 novel of the same name. It stars Barry Otto, Lynette Curran and Helen Jones.

Shame is a psychological condition.

Shirley Barrett was an Australian film director, screenwriter, and novelist. Initially Barrett was a singer in the band Fruit Pastilles from 1981-83. After ending her time in the band, Barrett went on to write for films. Her first film Love Serenade won the Caméra d'Or at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival. She wrote and directed two other feature films Walk the Talk (2000) and South Solitary (2010). Barrett's script for South Solitary was awarded multiple prizes, including the Queensland Premier's Prize and the West Australian Premier's Prize. Her first novel Rush Oh! (2016) was shortlisted for the 2016 Indie Awards for Debut Fiction and the 2016 Nita May Dobbie Award, and long-listed for the 2016 Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction. Her second novel The Bus on Thursday was released in 2018.

Tudawali is a 1988 made for television biographical film about Aboriginal Australian actor Robert Tudawali. The screenplay was by Alan Seymour. It was directed by Steve Jodrell, and stars Ernie Dingo in the title role.

<i>Beautiful</i> (2009 film) 2009 Australian film

Beautiful is a 2009 Australian independent film, written and directed by Dean O'Flaherty, which was released by Adelaide-based Kojo Pictures on 5 March 2009. The film marked the feature filmmaking debut of both O'Flaherty and Kojo Pictures. The South Australian Film Corporation provided approximately 10 per cent of the $1.5m budget, while the rest came from private investors.

<i>Shame</i> (2011 film) 2011 film by Steve McQueen

Shame is a 2011 British erotic psychological drama film, set in New York, directed by Steve McQueen, co-written by McQueen and Abi Morgan, and starring Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan as grown siblings. It was co-produced by Film4 and See-Saw Films. The film's explicit scenes reflecting the protagonist's sexual addiction resulted in a rating of NC-17 in the United States. Shame was released in the United Kingdom on 13 January 2012. It received generally positive reviews, with praise for Fassbender's and Mulligan's performances, realistic depiction of sexual addiction, and direction.

<i>The Homesman</i> 2014 film by Tommy Lee Jones

The Homesman is a 2014 Western historical drama film set in the 1850s Midwest and directed by Tommy Lee Jones. Jones, Kieran Fitzgerald, and Wesley Oliver based the screenplay on the 1988 novel of the same name by Glendon Swarthout. The film stars Jones and Hilary Swank and also features Meryl Streep, Grace Gummer, Miranda Otto, Hailee Steinfeld, John Lithgow, Jesse Plemons, and James Spader.

Natural Justice: Heat is a 1996 Australian telemovie drama about a motorcycle-riding lawyer, Asta Cadell, who heads to the rural Western Australia town of York. The film details police corruption, racism, violence and murder. Claudia Karvan stars in the lead role, which had previously been portrayed by Deborra-Lee Furness in the feature film, Shame (1988). Also in the cast are Sonia Todd as Jennifer Harivald, who is murdered; Steve Bastoni as Paul Tancred, a police sergeant who arrests Dacey Feguson for the crime and Jeremy Sims as Gavin Larson, a constable who brutalizes the Aboriginal townsfolk.

Umbrella Entertainment is an Australian film distribution company that began operating in 2001. It is based in Kew, Victoria.

References

  1. ↑ "Australian Productions Top $175 million", Cinema Papers, March 1986 p64
  2. 1 2 3 David Stratton, The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry, Pan MacMillan, 1990 p218-220
  3. ↑ "Shame". Beverly Blankenship. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 Kuipers, Richard. "Curator's notes Shame (1987) on ASO - Australia's audio and visual heritage online". ASO. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  5. 1 2 "database". australiancinema.info. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  6. 1 2 3 "Interview with Steve Jodrell", Signet, 30 March 1998. Retrieved 19 November 2012
  7. 1 2 "Shame (1988) - The Screen Guide - Screen Australia". Screen Australia. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  8. ↑ "Natural Justice: Heat (1996)". Australian Cinema. Archived from the original on 17 August 2003. Retrieved 26 July 2023– via National Library of Australia.
  9. ↑ "DEBORRA-LEE FURNESS TO CELEBRATE NFSA RESTORATION OF SHAME IN MELBOURNE". NATIONAL FILM AND SOUND ARCHIVE OF AUSTRALIA. 12 July 2017. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  10. ↑ "Umbrella Entertainment" . Retrieved 4 May 2013.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.