The Year My Voice Broke

PG-13

1987

1 hr. 43 min.

Drama

List

94%

16 Reviews

Tomatometer

84%

500+ Ratings

Audience Score

Danny (Noah Taylor) and Freya (Loene Carmen) have been friends since they were little children, and now that they're becoming young adults, Danny's feelings for her are becoming sexual. Freya, though, turns her attention to Trevor (Ben Mendelsohn), a charismatic rugby player and occasional car thief. Danny's jealousy is tempered by the fact that Trevor seems like a genuinely decent guy. The three misfits become allies against the bullies in their small Australian town.

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david f

This felt like an Australian The Last Picture Show - small town, secrets, a tiny theater, nostalgia. I really got wrapped up in it even though it was just about some normal kids crushing on each other, bullying each other, and daring each other to visit the abandoned house on the edge of town. This movie isn't very easy to find; watch it if you get a chance.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

jeff c

As a huge Nicole Kidman fan, I wanted to see her earlier work. When I read that this was the first of a two part movie set, I really wanted to watch it. Now I'm all set to watch the one with the higher RT score, Flirting. As a stand alone movie, When your voice Broke is OK and interesting, but nothing more unless you are interested in seeing NK at an early age

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Watching good Australian films is a bit of a novelty for me because my film tastes aren't particularly adventurous and I usually just stick to American films from the 1960s and 1970s. My familiarity with director John Duigan was derived from the 1981 Judy Davis film The Winter of Our Dreams which was decent but would have been very forgettable without Davis' performance. The actors in this film are a real draw though as you get young Noah Taylor, of Shine (1996) fame, and Ben Mendelsohn, in everything from Mississippi Grind (2015) to Ready Player One (2018), giving career-defining performances. One of the biggest highlights of the film is just how Australian it is as you get to hear accents and see locations that usually aren't present on screen. Awkward, serious teenager Danny, Noah Taylor, lives in rural Australia during the 1960s and is desperately in love with Freya, Loene Carmen, who politely ignores his advances hoping to still remain friends. She is attracted to town bad boy Trevor Leishman, Ben Mendelsohn, who gets her pregnant but is arrested by the police after stealing a car. Danny tries his hardest to help Freya and discovers dark secrets hidden in their town's history even as he is passed over for the less responsible Leishman. The film manages to be a sweet coming of age tale while also containing dark elements such as Freya's biological mother having been a prostitute that Danny's father may have slept with. This mix works because the film is more quiet and contemplative than American versions of a similar story as we don't get blaring Karla DeVito songs or dance montages but scenes of teenage boys playfully almost drowning girls who are besotted with them. The final moments of the film are incredibly poignant as we learn that Freya never came back to the town after she left and her fate is left up to our imagination. Danny is one of those rare protagonists who doesn't really change even as those around him do as he begins the story as a kind, honorable, wise beyond his years young men and is the same person when we last see him. Those around him do change however as the troubled Freya comes to understand that she cannot trust exciting but dangerous men like Trevor and she must get out of her small town to really find herself. We see Danny come to understand that Trevor is well meaning despite his meathead behavior and that Freya really does like him even if it is only infatuation. Every character, even Danny's parents who receive limited screen time, get sketched as complex people even while we are aware that we are seeing them through Danny's eyes therefore our view is not objective. Taylor's performance is remarkable as he is able to play a quiet, sensitive young man who clearly feels things very deeply without isolating the audience. His immaturity as he leans into kiss Freya is clear even as his mature reaction to the discovery of her parentage feels like that of a much older man. Carmen is sweet and likable as the object of his affection and the tragedy of her pregnancy and love for an unreliable man. Mendelsohn is a great deal of fun as the unwise Trevor and his bizarre little laugh and utter carelessness are memorable. Judi Farr brings a great deal of warmth and integrity to her role as Danny's mother Sheila Embling and her subtle interrogation of her husband feels like a moment that occurs in real life not in a film. This is a wonderful film that the entire family can take something away from and despite it's scene of Trevor and Freya kissing it's pretty kid friendly. The end of the film will leave you with a feeling of melancholy and a yearning for your youth. I felt a closeness to the characters in this film as they made decisions that felt like those of a kid and even the precocious, intelligent Danny could be stupid at the moments where it mattered most to appear as though he knew what he were doing. If you want a break from the films of John Hughes or Robert Luketic then this is a nice palette cleanser.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

Full Review

Audience Member

One of my fav movies :)

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/19/23

Full Review

kevin w

A worthwhile trip to early Sixties, small town, Australia where burgeoning youth learns that even the most innocent of lives here on Planet Earth is fraught with difficulty. While American media seduced via music and movies about the possibility of a better life possibly somewhere else, the local populace of this rural outpost have to live with the apparent drabness of their own situation. The natural performances of the leads and the writer/director's sure knowledge of his source material quietly deliver this laid back home cooked meal designed to satisfy. A great suggestion by a dear friend.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

heaps good film, didnt like the little kid but hes a poof, chicks pretty hot ay but yeah worth watching for sure. im giving it a 17.8065 / 25.005. yeah

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/10/23

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John Duigan

Director

Noah Taylor

Danny Embling

Loene Carmen

Freya Olson

Ben Mendelsohn

Trevor Leishman

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Variety Staff

Variety

The characters are memorable ones, and beautifully played by the three young newcomers, with Noah Taylor especially effective as the lovesick Danny.

Dec 18, 2007

Full Review

Time Out

A film to restore one's faith in films about the transition from adolescence to adulthood.

Jun 24, 2006

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Caryn James

New York Times

It is so pleasant and unpretentious that we can almost forget the total lack of surprise in this deftly acted Australian film.

Rated: 3.5/5

Aug 30, 2004

Full Review

Jeff Simon

Buffalo News

The ending carries a tidal surge of regret for youthful emotional loss that will no doubt be universal.

Apr 30, 2018

Full Review

Andrew L. Urban

Urban Cinefile

This funny, touching, truthful gem of a film is one of the ongoing pleasures of Australian cinema, and is as fresh and compelling on its 21st anniversary as it was on its acclaimed release

Dec 12, 2008

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TV Guide

Though it covers familiar territory, this well-acted, skillfully photographed film is a gentle examination of the rites of passage.

Rated: 2.5/4

Dec 18, 2007

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Synopsis

Danny (Noah Taylor) and Freya (Loene Carmen) have been friends since they were little children, and now that they're becoming young adults, Danny's feelings for her are becoming sexual. Freya, though, turns her attention to Trevor (Ben Mendelsohn), a charismatic rugby player and occasional car thief. Danny's jealousy is tempered by the fact that Trevor seems like a genuinely decent guy. The three misfits become allies against the bullies in their small Australian town.

Director: John Duigan
Production Co: Kennedy Miller Productions
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 18, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $36.9K