''Black and White'' is a 2002 Australian film directed by

Craig Lahiff Craig Lahiff (23 April 1947 – 2 February 2014) was an Australian film director. He grew up in the Adelaide suburb of Somerton Park and studied science at Adelaide University, then trained as a systems consultant before studying arts in film ...

and starring

Robert Carlyle Robert Carlyle (born 14 April 1961) is a Scottish actor. His film work includes '' Trainspotting'' (1996), ''The Full Monty'' (1997), ''The World Is Not Enough'' (1999), ''Angela's Ashes'' (1999), '' The Beach'' (2000), ''28 Weeks Later'' (20 ...

Charles Dance Walter Charles Dance (born 10 October 1946) is an English actor. He is known for playing strict, authoritarian characters and villains. His most notable film roles include Sardo Numspa in '' The Golden Child'' (1986), Dr. Jonathan Clemens in '' ...

Kerry Fox Kerry Lauren Fox (born 30 July 1966) is a New Zealand actress. She came to prominence playing author Janet Frame in the movie '' An Angel at My Table'' directed by Jane Campion, which gained her a Best Actress Award from the New Zealand Film and ...

, David Ngoombujarra, and

Colin Friels Colin Friels (born 25 September 1952) is a Scottish-born Australian actor of theatre, TV and film and presenter Early life Friels was born in Kilwinning, Ayrshire, Scotland.Interview with Colin Friels, ''George Negus Tonight'' (ABC Television) ...

Louis Nowra Mark Doyle, better known by his stage name Louis Nowra, (born 12 December 1950) is an Australian writer, playwright, screenwriter and librettist. He is best known as one of Australia's leading playwrights. His works have been performed by all o ...

wrote the screenplay, and Helen Leake and

Nik Powell Nik Powell (4 November 1950 – 7 November 2019) was a British businessman and one of the co-founders of Virgin Records with Richard Branson. After operating a mail-order company, a small record shop, and a recording studio, the partners estab ...

produced the film. The film won an

Australian Film Institute The Australian Film Institute (AFI) was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry. It is responsib ...

award in 2003 for David Ngoombujarra as Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

Plot

Based on real events, it tells the story of

Max Stuart Rupert Maxwell (Max) Stuart ( – 21 November 2014) was an Indigenous Australian who was convicted of murder in 1959. His conviction was subject to several appeals to higher courts,''R v Stuart'' aboriginal man who was sentenced to death after being found guilty of the murder of a nine-year-old girl on what was considered questionable evidence. It follows the fight by his lawyers David O'Sullivan (Carlyle) and Helen Devaney (Fox) to save Stuart from execution, as well as Crown Prosecutor, Roderic Chamberlain's (Dance) efforts to convict Stuart. Rohan Rivett editor of an Adelaide paper, ''The News (Adelaide), The News'', and its publisher, Rupert Murdoch (Ben Mendelsohn) also feature as leading the public response in the campaign to save Stuart. In the final scene of the film, Max Stuart appeared as himself as an older man, driving along a dirt highway near

Alice Springs Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' A ...

where he lived at the time, and saying: "Yeah, some people think I'm guilty and some people think I'm not. Some people think Elvis is still alive, but most of us think he's dead and gone."

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

the film has an approval rating of 43% based on reviews from 7 critics. "Like many of the landmark Australian films of the past thirty years, films such as Sunday Too Far Away, Breaker Morant … Black And White is firmly rooted in fact. There are fascinating twists and turns in Black And White and purely as entertainment the film offers an engaging human drama and a rich display of acting talent – the cast is huge. But Black And White seeks to make its mark as an important statement about our history as well. The Australian legal system was profoundly tested, and changed, by the Max Stuart case and for anyone concerned about the kind of society we’re building, it’s essential information." □ Peter Thompson's Film Reviews, ninemsn, 3 November 2002 "It’s one helluva great yarn for starters, and the sort of film Australia should be making. It slices open the social (black) heart of this society merely 50 years ago, to reveal it as not only racist and sexist but class-driven to boot. Stories of great injustice done to individuals by society are powerful cinema, and this story combines court room drama with a Big Issue. Bit like Erin Brockovich in a way, complete with small town underdog for a lawyer. (It’s about the only time lawyers can look good on screen.) Craig Lahiff and his production team do a sterling job in capturing the sense of the era, and the mood is poignantly carried on Cezary Szkubiszewski’s wonderful score. Lahiff squeezes top performances from all his leads, with Carlyle and Dance perfectly cast as opposites in every way." □ Andrew Urban, Urban Cinefile 2002 "A powerful emotive film for all Australians, Black and White doesn’t make a judgement as to Stuart’s innocence or guilt, it cleverly leaves that to you, the viewer. It bundles up all the emotions from that by-gone era and creates a feast for the mind and a visual delight. "Black and White" forces you to think, to ponder on the facts, to take sides and believe me you will. "Black and White" is another notch in the belt for the Australian film industry." - Insight, October 2002 It had a wide theatrical release in the UK, and earned the praise of numerous critics and press. "A gripping, well-crafted tale, lovingly made from the terrific period detail up, and its urgent plea for tolerance is as pertinent as ever." □ Neil Smith, Total Film, UK "Powerful and intriguing drama" □ Sunday Mirror, 11 January 2004 "Black and White is a superior drama – tense, unpredictable, full of intriguing characters and well acted. The story deserves to be told because it is about so much more than the crime itself" - Sunday Express, 18 January 2004 "What elevates Black and White above any of its genre is the way in which it establishes the absolute integrity of the two players… It is required viewing for all those who hold justice dear and fear for its fragile hold upon the law. … (It is) a challenging film that dares to trust our intelligence" - John Cooper, ''The Times'', 9 December 2003. "Based on true events, this deeply involving film is not only a terrific story but it’s also very timely in the issues it examines. .. Lahiff’s film is beautifully assembled to tell the story clearly and fairly. It grabs hold of us from the very beginning.. This is a great story nicely told." - Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall 20 November 2003 "this superb production continues the Australian tradition of fine movie-making… director Craig Lahiff’s beautifully shot drama is a thoroughly absorbing treat" - ''Daily Mirror'', 9 January 2004 "this watchable fictionalisation … (has) an engrossing story to tell, and it’s interestingly ambiguous where another sort of film might have been content with PC certainty... a dark horse of a film" - Peter Bradshaw, ''The Guardian'', 9 January 2004 Philip French called the film "heavy handed".

Awards

In 2003, the film won the

award for Best Actor in Supporting Role.

Festivals

: Sydney Film Festival 2002 (opening film) : Toronto IFF 2002 : London IFF 2002 : Hawaii IFF 2002 Gala : Pusan Korea IFF 2002 : London Australian Film Festival 2003 : Dublin FF 2003 : Taipei FF 2003 : Valenciennes FF France 2003 Competition : Belfast FF 2003 : Taos FF USA 2003 : Singapore IFF 2003 : Karlovy Vary IFF 2003 : SXSW FF USA 2004 : Beijing Australian Film Festival 2004 : Guangzhou FF 2004 : Cancun FF 2004 : Australian Embassy Roadshow – multiple countries

References

External links