Black And White
Synopsis
The script is based on a real life miscarriage of justice that is part of Australian history.
It is 1958 in conservative Adelaide, a city that prides itself on it's peaceful, well-bred qualities. A young lawyer, David O' Sullivan, excitable and charming, is given the news that he has drawn a 'lottery prize' - a legal aid case for an aborigine who has been arrested for the rape and murder of an eight year old girl in the far west desert town of Ceduna. O' Sullivan soon concludes that the aborigine has been framed by the local police and decides he must take a stand. He finds himself pitted against Chamberlain, South Australia's Crown Prosecutor, a forbidding but tremendously charismatic character. O' Sullivan and his legal partner, Helen Devaney, embark on a 'David and Goliath' battle that threatens the world of closed ranks, hidden evidence and the establishment.
Aided by the young Rupert Murdoch, who is making a name for himself, O' Sullivan takes the case to the highest courts in the Commonwealth. Manoeuvring narratives of political manipulation, police corruption and personal crisis, this is a wonderfully compelling story of right and wrong.
Details
- Year
- 2002
- Type of film
- Features
- Running Time
- tbc
- Format
- 35mm Kodak
- Director
- Craig Lahiff
- Producer
- Helen Leake, Nik Powell
- Screenwriter
- Louis Nowra
- Director of Photography
- Geoffrey Simpson ASC
- Sound
- Toivo Lember
- Principal Cast
- Robert Carlyle, Charles Dance, Kerry Fox
Genre
Production status
Complete
Please let us know if we need to make any amendments to this Film entry mailing us directly at
Last updated 26th November 2005