Black and White

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Audience Member 1/4/18 - A movie into the case of aboriginal Max Stewart and his conviction of rape and murder of white Mary Harttan. There's definitely a bias towards him being guilty, the movie doesn't show his attempted rape 2 years earlier of a 9yo girl in Cloncurry, which to me suggests his guilt. Rated 1.5/5 Stars •  Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 04/01/18 Full Review Audience Member An important story of a turning point in Australia's judiciary system, though 'Black and White' fails to capture the full dramatic impact of the tale at hand. It is exceptionally acted by Robert Carlyle, Charles Dance, Kerry Fox, and, of course, Ben Mendelsohn, with David Ngoombujarra also making a strong impression, but this dialogue-driven pic doesn't quite reach the heights it should. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review Audience Member I watched this film for the first time tonight and have come away from it with mixed emotions. This is a film which works on all sorts of levels and it's a difficult one to define. Above all else it is a true story about an Aboriginal man in the late 1950s who is sentenced to death for the rape and murder of a child. His innocence is apparent, however the South Australian legal system at the time was full of prejudice, insularity and corruption. One small time lawyer agrees to defend him and is presented with brick walls at every turn. Even the presiding judges are dismissive... the attitude is that a black man must be guilty and so to hell with evidence. There have been several films about the injustices of indigenous people and this film proves to be an important one, however the racial aspect is lost amongst the other facets of the story. An important factor in the case was Rupert Murdoch. As a young man recently inherent of a wealthy newspaper, he sees this case as a means of boosting his own position as well as fighting for his own sense of justice. Ruthless as always this is an interesting insight into the man's early years. The shame about this movie is it's length. It feels like a 3 hour story being crammed into 100 minutes. I wish it were longer and consequently it feels like so much has been left out and the surface has only been scratched in regards to other details. Anyhow, its worth seeing. The ensemble cast is impressive with a who's who of Aussie faces (Ben Mendelsohn is great as Murdoch) and leading performances from Robert Carlyle, Kerry Fox and Charles Dance. David Ngoombujarra is exceptional as the man at the centre of it all. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member Cinema is littered with 'true stories' of criminal justice gone horribly wrong, and generally these films are fair, good, or borderline great. Black and White, saddled with one of cinema's most cliched titles, is square in the middle of the pack. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member This courtroom drama was fairly decent movie based on true events. Although not original with many more out there just like this one, it was still entertaining, emotional, and worth seeing because it was just so messed up. A black Aboriginal man in Australia gets accused of raping and killing a 9 year old girl. He is then railroaded by the police and a young rebel lawyer puts his career and reputation on the line to save this mans life. If courtroom dramas and lawyer movies are you thing... then this might not be the most attractive movie, but you might be interested in seeing this one. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member This film has got to be one of the most unwatched films ever...really people you have to watch it Robert Carlyle puts in a great performance as the poor defence lawyer up against the pompus Britsh?Australian law in the 1950's David Ngoombujarra plays a great part as the accused Aborigine....Great film if u like court room stuff :) Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Black and White

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