''That Eye, the Sky'' is a 1986 novel by Australian author

Tim Winton Timothy John Winton (born 4 August 1960) is an Australian writer. He has written novels, children's books, non-fiction books, and short stories. In 1997, he was named a Living Treasure by the National Trust of Australia, and has won the ...

. It follows the young protagonist Morton 'Ort' Flack, as he struggles to cope with life in a small country town after his father is paralysed in a serious car accident. After his father's accident, Ort is forced to step up and become the '

Man A man is an adult male human. Before adulthood, a male child or adolescent is referred to as a boy. Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromosome from the f ...

' of an increasingly complicated household. The situation becomes all the more convoluted with the introduction of the mysterious Henry Warburton, a dubious figure who says he has come to help. The story explores the theme of

coming of age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...

, and the complicated role religion plays in rural Australian life.

Reviews

'' The Publishers Weekly'' said of the book, ''"The wrenching story... proves love like Ort's can prevail against hell itself"'' The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' writes that, ''"The great strength of the novel is in the way the grotesque contrasts and parallels in human life are spread out, examined and accepted."''

Film adaptations

The film adaptation was directed by

John Ruane John Vincent Ruane (October 4, 1936 – September 3, 2006) was an American jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing. Ruane began his career in 1957, competing on the New York State racing circuit where he rode for noted U.S. Racing Hall of Fame ...

and released in 1994. Ruane later said:

I think the mistake I made with ''That Eye, the Sky'' is not to have more humour in it, because the book had a lot of humour. But, unfortunately, with the novel being written in the first person, a lot of the humour comes from the little boy interpreting the events and the situations he finds himself in and that he observes. So we are party to his sense of humour via his inner thoughts. When you pull that away, you have to come up with an orthodox third person approach. I really wish we had come up with more humour.

The film was made by the company of

Fred Schepisi Frederic Alan Schepisi ( ;Pauline Kael, Kael, Pauline (1984). ''Taking It All In''. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. p. 55. born 26 December 1939) is an Australian film director, producer, and screenwriter. His credits include ''The Cha ...

who later claimed the film was bad:

Because the director didn't know what he was doing or what side he was on. You've got to take a side. He went on an exploration. An exploration is all right but you've got to do it from a point of view.

Actor

Peter Coyote Peter Coyote (born Robert Peter Cohon; October 10, 1941) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, author, and narrator of films, theater, television, and audiobooks. He worked on films, such as ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (1982), '' C ...

stated:

''That Eye, the Sky'' was masterfully made into a really lovely film by the director, but the producer abandoned them during the final edit, which resulted in a studio hack taking it over, cutting 40 minutes out and making it completely impenetrable. They blamed the director.

Cast

as Henry Warburton * Jamie Croft as Morton 'Ort' Flack *

Lisa Harrow Lisa Harrow (born 25 August 1943) is a New Zealand RADA-trained actress, noted for her roles in British theatre, films and television. She is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Nancy Astor in the British BBC television drama ''Nancy Astor ...

as Alice Flack *

Amanda Douge Amanda Douge (born December 1976) is an Australian actress, best known from various television and feature film roles. Early life and education Douge was born in Melbourne in 1976, and studied law at Melbourne University (1993). She has a Ma ...

as Tegwyn Flack * Mark Fairall as Sam Flack * Alethea McGrath as Grammar Flack * Paul Sonkkila as Mr Cherry *

Louise Siversen Louise Siversen is an Australian actress. She is known for her television roles, including Lou Kelly in ''Prisoner'' (1984–1986), Debbie in '' The Flying Doctors'' (1988–1990), and 2012-2017 Heather Looby in '' House Husbands''. She has a ...

as Mrs Cherry * Jim Daly as Lawrence Wingham

Play

The book was adapted by

Richard Roxburgh Richard Roxburgh (born 23 January 1962) is an Australian actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of a number of accolades across film, television, and theatre, including several AFI and AACTA Awards, Logie Awards, and Helpmann Awards. He bega ...

and

Justin Monjo Justin Monjo (born 1963, New York City, New York) is an American screenwriter, television producer, and actor, best known for his work on ''Farscape''. Early life Monjo is the son of children's author F. N. Monjo III and the great-great-grandson ...

into the play ''That Eye, The Sky'' (by Justin Monjo,

, and

) produced by Burning House Theatre Company, at Darlinghurst, Sydney, Australia (6 January – 6 February 1994) and Playhouse Theatre, Melbourne (13 – 15 October 1994). There was a later production at the New Theatre, 15 March to 16 April 2016. A review of the play described it as "...a dark and mysterious play anchored by a cast at the top of their game .. not an emotionally engaging play, but it is an interesting one".

Original cast

as Henry Warburton *

David Wenham David Wenham (born 21 September 1965) is an Australian actor who has appeared in film, television and theatre. He is known for his roles as Faramir in The Lord of the Rings (film series), ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy, Friar Carl in ' ...

as Morton 'Ort' Flack *

Rachel Szalay Rachel Szalay is an Australian actress and visual artist. Early life Szalay was born in January 1965. From 1983 to 1985, she studied visual art at City Art Institute. In 1986, she then began studying an acting diploma at the National Institut ...

as Alice Flack *

Susan Prior Susan Prior is an Australian actress. Early life and education Susan Prior graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney. Career Prior has worked extensively with the Sydney Theatre Company, including '' Riflemind'', as we ...

as Tegwyn Flack * Tom Lycos as Sam Flack * Alan Flower * Andrew Gilbert * Celia Ireland * Steve Rodgers *

Hugo Weaving Hugo Wallace Weaving (born 4 April 1960) is a British actor. He is the recipient of six Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (AACTA) and has been recognised as an Honorary Officer of the Order of Australia. Born in Colonia ...

References

External links

*
''That Eye, the Sky''
at

Australian Screen Online The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting, and providing access to a national c ...

''That Eye, the Sky''
at Oz Movies {{DEFAULTSORT:That Eye, The Sky 1986 Australian novels 1990s English-language films Australian drama films Australian novels adapted into films Australian novels adapted into plays Novels by Tim Winton