The Nightingale

THE NIGHTINGALE - IFC FILMS

The Nightingale is an intensely morbid, viciously angry descent to helplessness and despair. Jennifer Kent follows up her directorial debut, The Babadook, with a daring and harrowing examination of colonialism and abuse during 18th century Tasmania that proves itself to be a confronting, yet tricky film to watch. 

The Nightingale follows Aisling Franciosi and Baykali Ganambarr as Clare and “Billy”, respectively. The former is a young female convict who seeks vengeance after an unspeakable act of brutality is committed on her while the latter is an Aboriginal tracker whom Clare hires, upset at the ongoing colonization of British soldiers upon their lands and further grows his hatred towards them. Both of the lead performances carry the film, brilliantly expressing the pain and fury that have remained rampaging inside them. The developing dynamic between these characters is believable and organic to the film’s narrative. 

There sustains an uncomfortably unsettling atmosphere throughout its 136-minute runtime without a single moment of levity present. From the start, the film is riddled with appalling sequences, comprising some of the most visceral depictions of violence ever put on screen yet still managing to stray itself away from exploitative territory. As consequences of the savagery mentioned above, it shows nothing but further nihilistic trauma to its central characters and unchanged indifference to its most cruel villains, with Sam Clafin terrifically portraying the repulsive Hawkins. 

However, Kent’s sophomore effort is not at all a perfect film. Admittedly, a film that is overflowing with misery can be very tiresome and boring; some extended dream sequences are repetitive in nature and should’ve been cut. Nevertheless, The Nightingale is a wonderfully told revenge tale that is straight forward yet uneasy to get through, with the final moments being satisfyingly unconventional.