The Nightingale (2018)

Aisling Franciosi is Claire Carroll, a pretty Irish girl with a lovely voice working off her time as a convict in Van Dieman’s Land (Tasmania, 1825).

She’s already served her time under Lt. Hawkins (Sam Claflin), but he won’t sign the papers that will release her to her husband, Aidan.

That’s partly because of his attraction to her. That’s partly because he loves to rules everything around him. And that’s partly because he’d prefer to have Claire around as his unwilling sexual partner.

After the men clash over Claire’s status, Aidan decides it’s time for the family — they also have a baby girl — to flee rather than face more punishment at the hands of the English law.

Hawkins, Sgt. Ruse and a young soldier name Jago interrupt their departure. By the time the violence ends, Claire’s husband and baby are dead. She’s been raped again, knocked unconscious and left for dead.

She doesn’t die. She sets out on a quest of vengeance, following Lt. Hawkins and his small party into the Tasmanian wilderness.

She reluctantly takes along a black named “Billy” Mangana (Baykali Ganambarr) as a guide, though she fears he’s more likely to slit her throat than lead her anywhere.

During their journey, Claire learns she’s far from the only victim of the English attempt to settle Van Dieman’s Island.

The Black War is underway. And the English are trying to exterminate the black Aborigines who have called the land home for centuries.

Aisling Franciosi as Claire Carroll, getting prettied up to sing for the soldiers in The Nightingale (2018)

Baykali Ganambarr as Billy Mangana, Claire’s reluctant guide in The Nightingale (2018)

Review:

An effective and engrossing tale to revenge, thanks to the unique setting, a standout performance from Aisling Franciosi and, yes, thanks partly to the film’s brutality.

And don’t cringe at the 136-minute run time. It allows time for a relationship to develop between Claire and her companion “Billy” Mangana.

She calls him “boy” when they depart on their journey. She’s so leery of him, that she forces him to walk ahead, following him on horseback, musket at the ready.

In Billy’s eyes, Claire’s just another white, part of the race that has robbed his people of their home. Though around a campfire one night, Claire proclaims that she’s Ireland. Not England. And that she hates England too.

And therein lies the key. Over the course of their journey, Claire and Billy learn they have more in common with one another than either has with the likes of Lt. Hawkins. And one woman’s quest for revenge becomes a shared quest.

Sam Claflin as Lt. Hawkins, the man who considers Claire his property in The Nightingale (2018)

Damon Harriman as Sgt. Ruse, keeping his soldiers in line in The Nightingale (2018)

Directed by:
Jennifer Kent

Cast:
Aisling Franciosi … Claire Carroll
Sam Claflin … Hawkins
Baykali Ganambarr … “Billy” Mangana
Damon Harriman … Ruse
Harry Greenwood … Jago
Ewen Leslie … Goodwin
Charlie Shotwell … Eddie
Michael Sheasby … Aidan Carroll
Charlie Jampijinpa Brown … Uncle Charlie
Eloise Winestock … Luddy
Magnolia Maymuru … Lowanna
Matthew Barker … Goodwin’s ensign
Ben Morton … Wallace

Runtime: 136 min.

Harry Greenwood as Ensign Jago, horrified by what happened at the Carroll home in The Nightingale (2018)

Michael Sheasb as Aidan Carroll, Claire’s husband in The Nightingale (2018)

Memorable lines:

Aidan Carroll: “Why won’t you let her go? She’s paid her dues, and so have I.”
Hawkins: “Is that right?”
Aidan: “She’s my wife.”
Hawkins: “And she’s my property, so I’ll do what I want with her.”

Aidan Carroll: “We don’t want no trouble.”
Hawkins: “That’s just the way, isn’t it? You don’t want trouble. But sometimes, trouble wants you.”

Ruse to Jago: “Look at the bright side. Two months in Van Diemen’s Land and you’re already a baby killer.”

Claire to Billy: “Every time something bad happens, you’re no where to be found. I’m paying you to protect me.”
Billy: “No, you’re not. I’m showing you the way. You protect yourself.”

Claire to Billy: “Welcome to the world, boy, full of misery from top to bottom.”

Hawkins, when Claire reappears in town: “Don’t you ever fucking die?”

Aisling Franciosi as Claire Carroll, offering a shilling for a gide in The Nightingale (2018)

Charlie Jampijinpa Brown as Uncle Charlie, assuring Hawkins they’re on the right trail in The Nightingale (2018)

Ewen Leslie as Capt. Goodwin, refusing to recommend Hawkins for promotion in The Nightingale (2018)

Sam Claflin as Lt. Hawkins with Aisling Franciosi as Claire, about to bring horror to the Carroll home in The Nightingale (2018)

Magnolia Maymuru as Lowanna, the black mother the whites capture in The Nightingale (2018)

Charlie Shotwell as Eddie, a young boy traveling with Lt. Hawkins in The Nightingale (2018)

Aisling Franciosi as Claire Carroll and Baykali Ganambarr as Billy Mangana in The Nightingale (2018)

Sam Claflin as Lt. Hawkins, taking aim at a pursuer in The Nightingale (2018)

Harry Greenwood as Ensign Greenwood, coming face to face with vengeance in The Nightingale (2018)

Damon Harrisman as Sgt. Ruse, pleading for his life with a crazed commander in The Nightingale (2018)

Aisling Franciosi as Claire Carroll, having experienced her first taste of revenge in The Nightingale (2018)

Baykali Ganambarr as Billy Mangana, realizing Claire isn’t seeking a lost husband in The Nightingale (2018)

Aisling Franciosi as Claire Carroll, horrified by the treatment of aborigines on the road to town in The Nightingale (2018)