User Reviews

Best remembered by cinephiles as the film won Meryl Streep a Cannes BEST ACTRESS trophy and is among one of her 19 Oscar-nominated performances, A CRY IN THE DARK is a faithful adaptation of a sensational true story in Australia, about Lindy Chamberlain (Streep), a mother of three, and her parson husband Michael (Neill), the former is accused of murdering her newborn baby daughter during a camping trip in Ayers Rock in 1980, while she claims the baby is snatched by a dingo, and the latter is charged as an accessory. Now this case is already cleared as their convictions have been overturned in 1988 when new key evidence emerges.

Before watching the movie, I have no idea how the story will wind up, all I know is that it is a thorny case of whether a mother murders her own child or not, so I conjecture it would straddle the key issue of the mother's innocence, but director Fred Schepisi (SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION 1993, 6/10) gives a firm hand in exerting Lindy's innocence, and vigilantly indicts the media's hullabaloo and hyper coverage, the spuriousness lies in the forensic system and the public's collective impressionability maliciously based on mislead first impression and personal prejudice.

The Chamberlains are Seventh-Day Adventists, the tragedy and its segueing emotional toll also affect their beliefs, not to mention the vicious allegations of their cultish sacrifice, especially for Michael, who implores God for a reason to take away their daughter, cries out that hell can't be worse than this when they are on trial for a egregious but fictitious crime, his unraveling is perceptibly characterised by a blond Sam Neill. Running parallel to Michael's deterioration, Meryl's Lindy is the backbone of the whole myth, she is not a grieving mother who is all teary-eyed and rueful of her ephemeral inattention, she is tougher than her husband, not intend to indulge in grievance as life must go on, so in front of the camera, she seems aloof, withheld, a shade indignant, which generates a negative impression among the spectators, when malign rumours run amok, she tries to right the falsehood with more media involvement which is sardonically a wishful thinking. I'm no expert of accent, but it is swell to watch Meryl articulate a New Zealand accent (Lindy is New Zealand born in real life) without any feigned effort betrayed. Here Meryl shines magnificently all through to be unfathomable and detached, even during the most pulverising point, she is resolutely staunch, and her scenes in the courtroom are paradigm of balancing heart-rending outburst with constrained implosion, it is OK to being wronged, it is not the end, since she doesn't kill her baby, there is no guilty conscience exuded as all the onlookers are eagerly expecting in front of their televisions.

Aesthetically the film is more in line with a solid TV movie sending many significant social messages, but there are way too many gratuitous reaction shots of bystanders thrust every now and then, as they can hardly have any saying versus the final verdict, it serves only as a repeated reminder of how ignorant is the public and how easily they can be influenced by a manufactured national hoopla. It seems that Schepisi pushes fairly too hard this time, otherwise, the film remains comparatively relatable and if you adore Meryl Streep, you should not let it slip through your fingers.

I am a Meryl Streep fan. I feel she is so versatile. This is just another character where she shows her versatility. I don't think the role of Lindy Chamberlain was an easy one, nor Michael Chamberlain for that matter. Meryl Streep and Sam Neil both did an INCREDIBLE job playing those roles.

This is a very sad story. I couldn't even imagine having to going through what Lindy had to go through after losing a baby. As if losing the baby wasn't enough. This movie shows the power of media. As soon as people start talking the whole story escalates. Everything went out of control. I find it so sad how everyone has to jump on the bandwagon, and this mom went to jail because of it. I know that with certain murder trials I have had quite a strong opinions of what I believe is true. So I guess this is exactly the same thing, part of our human nature.

I found the beginning of the movie a bit slow, but from the time Azaria was taken, I couldn't take my eye away from the screen. I was too emotionally involved. I found how they kept showing snippets of the general public to be very effective. It was interesting to see how everyone has their opinion, in the beginning silly things like the name Azaria means sacrifice in the wilderness, and eventually it all turns into a hate for Lindy. People celebrated when she got convicted.

This is a really sad, but great movie. The movie left me with a lot of things to think about, about human nature, media etc etc. Most definitely a tearjerker, but I think one of those are good every now and then. Knowing that this is based on a true story just makes it that much sadder...

In August 1980 a nine-week-old baby girl named Azaria Chamberlain disappeared from a camp-site near Ayers Rock, Australia. The baby's mother Alice (generally known as Lindy) stated that her daughter had been taken by a wild dingo, and a subsequent inquest ruled that her account of events was true. That, however, was not the end of the matter. The police continued to investigate the disappearance, and eventually Lindy was charged with Azaria's murder; her husband Michael was charged with helping her dispose of the body. In October 1982 both were convicted and Lindy was sentenced to life imprisonment. (Michael was only given a suspended sentence). Several years later fresh evidence came to light which led to Lindy's release from prison; in 1988, shortly before this film was released, both the Chamberlains were acquitted by the Northern Territory Court of Appeals of all the charges against them.

The "dingo baby case", as it became known, was one of the most controversial cases in Australian legal history. I remember an Australian friend coming to visit me in the early nineties, several years after Lindy and Michael Chamberlain had been exonerated, and as like me he was a keen film enthusiast I suggested that we should watch "Out of Africa" which was on television that evening. He refused point blank, stating that ever since the release of "A Cry in the Dark" he had made it a principle not to watch any film starring Meryl Streep because of what he described as her part in the "whitewashing of a notorious child-killer".

My friend's attitude was by no means unusual in Australia. The case divided public opinion sharply in that country, with the majority probably believing that the Chamberlains were guilty. Gossip about them was widely repeated and quickly accepted as the truth. One thing that even the prosecution was unable to come up with was a plausible motive for the alleged crime. Those, however, who wanted to see the Chamberlains prosecuted in the court of public opinion were not so reticent. The couple were members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church- indeed, Michael was a pastor in that church- and rumour soon had it that Adventist religious doctrine demands the human sacrifice of young children in order to atone for the sins of the community. It was also widely, and incorrectly, reported in the media that the name Azaria means "sacrifice in the wilderness". Few of those who passed on these rumours had any real interest in Adventism, or how the doctrines of that church differ from those of mainstream Christianity; they merely saw the church as a bizarre and fanatical cult.

This was the second film directed by Fred Schepisi in his native Australia. His first film, "The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith", also based on a real-life murder case, was part of the Australian "new wave" of the Seventies, but soon after making it Schepisi left for Hollywood. It is a dry, factual look at the facts of the case in the manner of a television docudrama; there is little to distinguish it from a "based-on-a-true-story" TV movie except for the presence of a major international star in the shape of Meryl Streep. (That and the fact that it is more factually accurate than most TV movies).

Streep gets a chance to add another to her collection of accents, having earlier in the decade bagged British ("The French Lieutenant's Woman", "Plenty"), Polish ("Sophie's Choice") and Danish ("Out of Africa"). (Some people still think of her as an actress whose main skill is the ability to reproduce foreign accents, even though since the end of the eighties she has rarely played characters who are not American, her Italian-born housewife in "The Bridges of Madison County" and Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady" being the main exceptions). Here she gives an excellent performance as Lindy Chamberlain. What is so remarkable is that she is able to convey not only her Lindy's strength of personality and belief in her own innocence but also the character traits which persuaded many people that Lindy was in fact guilty. Meryl was nominated for a "Best Actress" Oscar but lost out to Jodie Foster in "The Accused".

What alienated so many members of the public was Lindy's refusal to make a show of her grief and her calm demeanour and stoical acceptance of her daughter's death. This attitude was probably based on Lindy's firm religious beliefs, her conviction that Azaria's death was the will of God and that her daughter had gone to a better life in Heaven, but many people took it as cold-heartedness, even as proof of her guilt. Sam Neill is also good as Michael, a weaker character than his wife, who confronted with disaster loses faith both in God and in Lindy's innocence.

"A Cry in the Dark" has many similarities to a number of British films from around this period dramatising real-life miscarriages of justice, such as "Dance with a Stranger" and "Let Him Have It". Films of this nature, quite apart from their entertainment value, also have a useful social function in that they remind us of how easily such miscarriages can occur. In Lindy Chamberlain's case the main factors appear to have been public hysteria, prejudice against a minority religion, the irresponsibility of parts of the media and flawed "expert" evidence. (Azaria's clothing was examined by a British forensic scientist with no knowledge of dingoes; a chemical sprayed on the Chamberlains' car as a sound deadener was mistaken for blood). That the Chamberlains were eventually exonerated was largely due to the chance discovery of new evidence; one wonders how many innocent people are still in jail waiting for such evidence to turn up. 7/10

Except for the acting of Meryl Streep, which is of note as always, I'd avoid this film because it has a dated "Movie of the Week" quality about it. But it is worth watching if you keep the several understories in mind: How a couple endures media scrutiny, and how the different are treated.

Throughout the movie the issue is the credibility of the different. Australians are different than "us" (most of the rest of the world), so we (most of us) automatically come at it with an air of "oddness" about them. The couple involved is religious (different than most of culture) and Adventists (different) at that. So their lifestyle and mindset are suspect to begin with. Dingos are different animals than other dogs, so again we're faced with oddness questions. The real story, then, is how society (and the world) treats the different, those who have different accents, different beliefs, than we do and how we treat what they say as suspect.

It's difficult to hear the phrase "A dingo took my baby!" without laughing and there are humorous posts, sadly, all over the web about it. But in the years that followed the story and the movie it has been discovered (as you'll find in web searches) that much larger children have been stalked by dingos. Research by experts in dingos have shown that it was not only possible but most probable that the baby was taken by dingos (maybe a pair), extracted expertly from the clothing and eaten within moments without a trace.

Yet what is left behind is the question of why people defended dingos when they were found to be endangering children rather than killing the dingo to save the children, why because a woman's affect (expression) is so cold she is assumed to be guilty, and on and on.

Haunting questions, with or without the film.

I heard about the real-life story this film was based on when it was mentioned briefly on Channel 4's Big Fat Quiz, I was most interested to see it, from Golden Globe nominated director Fred Schepisi (The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, Roxanne, Six Degrees of Separation, Fierce Creatures). Basically in Australia, deeply religious Lindy Chamberlain (Oscar nominated Meryl Streep), her Seventh Day Adventist pastor husband Michael (Sam Neill), their two sons, and their nine-week-old daughter Azaria are on a camping holiday. The family are in the Outback enjoying the landscape at Ayer's Rock. One night, the family are invited to a barbecue with some fellow campers, the baby is left sleeping in the tent with the door unzipped. During the barbecue, a cry is heard, Lindy returns to the tent and sees a dingo with something in its mouth run out. She is shocked to find that Azaria is missing, she realises that the wild dog must have taken the child. Everyone joins forces to search for the baby, without success, and the search continues across the Outback the following morning. A subsequent inquest rules her account of what happened to her child to be true. The story is released to the press, and public opinion soon turns against the Chamberlains, as their religious beliefs make them, especially Lindy, appear too stoic, too cold-hearted, and too accepting of the disaster that has befallen her. The couple's beliefs are not widely practised in the country, then an over-the-top rumours spreads, the public is quick to believe they decapitated their baby with a pair of scissors as part of a bizarre religious rite. Law-enforcement officials find new witnesses, forensics experts, and circumstantial evidence, including a small wooden coffin Michael uses for un-smoked cigarettes. The investigation is reopened, and Lindy is charged with murder. Seven months pregnant, she ignores her attorneys' advice, to get the jury's sympathy, and appears emotionless on the stand, convincing onlookers she is guilty of the crime of which she is accused. As the trial progresses, Michael's faith in his religion and his belief in his wife disintegrate, and he stumbles through his testimony, suggesting he is concealing the truth. In October 1982, Lindy is found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment, while Michael is also found guilty and given an eighteen-month suspended sentence. Over three years later, police are searching for the body of an English tourist in the Outback. A small item of clothing is discovered, it is identified as part of the clothing worn by baby Azaria, recovered early in the investigation. Lindy is immediately released from prison, the case is reopened, and all convictions against the Chamberlains are dropped. Also starring Bruce Myles as Ian Barker, Q.C., Captain Scarlet's Charles Tingwell as Justice James Muirhead, Nick Tate as Detective Graeme Charlwood, Neil Fitzpatrick as John Phillips, Q.C., Maurie Fields as Justice Denis Barritt and Lewis Fitz-Gerald as Stuart Tipple. Streep in her black wig with a convincing Australian accent does well as the tough, humourless woman, Neill is equally good as her gloomy husband, it is one of the "stranger than fiction" harrowing stories that was a big deal in the day, the film deals with many of the key elements, including the media circus and the court case, it is a bit TV-movie feel and slow at times, but an interesting biographical drama. It was nominated the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture - Drama and Best Screenplay. Good!

Lindy (Meryl Streep) and her husband Michael (Sam Neill) have just welcomed a baby girl, Azaria. As Seventh Day Adventists, they live their beliefs every day and soon have Azaria dedicated to God at their church, with their two older boys looking on. Michael gets a vacation and the family decides to head to Ayer's Rock, one of the most impressive tourist spots in all of Australia. Not being wealthy, the family camps near the site. After a wonderful first day, Lindy puts baby Azaria to sleep in one of the tents. Suddenly, she hears Azaria crying. As Lindy rushes to the tent, a dingo dog is just exiting, shaking his head. The baby is gone and soon, so is the dingo. Although the entire camp looks for the baby, she is not found. Concluding she is dead and that the dingo made off with their beloved child, the Chamberlains struggle to accept God's decision and go on with their lives. But, unfortunately, the story gets sensational coverage in the news media and soon the tale is circulated that Lindy murdered the baby. She is subsequently arrested and put on trial. How could this happen? This is a great depiction of real events that shows how "mob rule" is not a figment of the imagination. The entire country turns against the Chamberlains, in part because they are seen as odd. Streep gives her best performance ever as the complex Lindy, whose own strong-willed demeanor works against her every step of the way. Neill, likewise, does a wonderful job as the hesitant and confused Michael. The cast is one of the largest ever, with depictions of folks around the country getting their digs into Lindy's case. The costumes, scenery, script, direction and production are all top of the line. If you have never seen or heard of this film, remedy that straight away. It is not a far cry from reality to say that this "Cry" should be seen by all who care about film and about the misused power of the media.

After recently seen the musical drama "Parade" based upon the Leo Frank lynching in Atlanta a hundred years ago, I decided to revisit another drama about a different kind of lynching, the real life story of the Chamberlains (Michael and Lindy), given no peace of mind after the disappearance of their baby while traveling in the Australian outback. They accuse the disappearance of the baby on the presence of a dingo (wild dog), and after the story gets public curiosity, Lindy Chamberlain (Meryl Streep) is accused of killing her own baby, and put on trial.

As the trial progresses, public interest turns into the public lust for judgment over scandal, and it's obvious that the Chamberlains don't even have a chance to grieve before she's branded as a witch with Lindy getting just as much press as real life celebrities or public figures were. Close-ups on the public looking on her in court shows their desire for dirt, regardless if it's true. This is a movie that had me angry at the cauldron stirring prosecuting attorneys and the press, just as they were all over the world with news items that really didn't need to be considered news, exploited for news story headlines and TV show ratings.

While a good film, this has TV movie written all over it, exploited not only by variations of Streep's quote of how a dingo got her baby, a movie about cartoon villain Natasha who ended up with Streep's hairstyle and later a blip brought back to public attention on "Family Guy". For this reason, the film has gotten a small cult reputation even though it's not camp. As good as Streep and Sam Neill (as the husband) are, it's not as well remembered as their other films because the public has moved onto other scandalous stories and this just seemed tame in comparison. Streep deserved her acclaim, but without her, the film would be a dusty DVD memory in the back of people's closets.

Remember when Family Guy did Dingo and the Baby? Well, this is the movie about the real story. How does Cannon figure in? While Roadshow Entertainment distributed this film in Austalia and Warner Brothers handled this in the U. S., Cannon had the worldwide rights. You may have seen this under its international title, A Cry In the Dark.

Directed by Fred Schepisi (The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, Roxanne, Iceman and Six Degrees of Separation), who co-wrote the movie with Robert Caswell, and based on the book Evil Angels by John Bryson, this movie stars Meryl Streep and Sam Neill as Lindy and Michael Chamberlain.

During a barbecue, their two-month-old daughter Azaria was sleeping in a tent when a dingo stole her and devoured her. Even when the couple are cleared of any crime, public opinion turns against them and rumors of them being Satanists - they were Seventh-day Adventists - and sacrificing their daughter begin to spread.

This court of public outrage ends up turning into an actual trial and Lindsay goes to jail, only to be later cleared when the police find the jacket that her daughter had been wearing with teeth holes all over it. Lindsay was seen as unlikeable, which doesn't mean guilty, but feelings too often are more important than empirical evidence.