It's so rare that I could recommend an Australian movie to audiences anywhere. Let's hope this one doesn't misfire at the box office, as Berlin Syndrome seems to be doing.
It's based on a church-school rapist case that indirectly brought down an Australian Governor-General. Compared with Spotlight, it's more of an interior or chamber piece.
Tori Garrett does very well in her debut feature. Nothing showy, but casting, script and cinematography are all well worked. The good guys are humanised, but so are the bad guys. The ending is a direct play on the emotions, but well earned i thought.
The case also helped trigger our Royal Commission into institutional sex abuse. While our federal government now dithers over a few mil for a National Redress Scheme, it still has a ring-fenced $11b a year for the religious schools. One prominent principal proved to have protected abusers in the past is already bragging that his school will get more loot.
