Critical Review: THAT EYE THE SKY

 

v   Credits

Ort Flack: Jamie Croft

Sam Flack: Mark Fairall

Alice Flack: Lisa Harrow

Tegwyn Flack: Amanda Douge

Henry Warburton: Peter Coyote

Grammar: Alethea McGrath

Mr. Cherry: Paul Sonkilla

Mrs. Cherry: Louise Siverson

Fat Cherry: Jeremy Dridon

Lawrence Wingham: Jim Daly

Ambulance Man: David Le Page

Parishioner: Lois Angus

 

Executive Producers: Fred Schepisi

                                   Tim Bevan

                                   Robert Le Tet

Producers: Peter Beilby

                  Grainne Marmion

Director: John Ruane

Editor: Ken Sallows

Sound Editor: Gareth Vanderhope

Script Consultant: John Flaus

Original Music: David Bridie

                          John Phillips (II)

Director of Photography: Ellery Ryan

Production Design: Chris Kennedy

1st Assistant Director: Phil Jones

2nd Assistant Director: Christian Robinson

3rd Assistant Director: Tim Scott

 

v   Box Office

    Oddly enough ö or perhaps not so oddly ö I couldnāt find any box office figures. The movie was released in 1994 but I was unable to find a release date or even the week during which it came out. Without a release date this made it twice as hard to find box office figures. I did search through the archives at http://www.urbancinefile.com.au/News_Bums_on_seats_New.asp However I could only get movies from as early back as 1997. This could be a space-saving device on the part of whoever created the website, but because I was unable to find other reports on That Eye The Sky I believe itās also a testament to how small and unknown the movie was.

 

 

 

 

v    Interviews and Reviews

    Once again, not knowing the release date made it next to impossible to find interviews or reviews that may have come about at the same time as the movies release. The IMDb website had the most information on the movie that I could find. Even so, they only had information under the following headings: main details, combined details, full cast and crew, company credits, user comments, awards and nominations, user ratings, recommendations, plot summary, plot keywords and technical specs.[1]

   These included the barest facts, and user ratings and recommendations were not based on an unbiased survey of the population. There is a page for user comments where you can read reviews by other IMDb users, or add your own. However I could only find the one ćcommentä, by a Nicholas Donaghy from Victoria who claims the movies was ĪA little questionable and contrived . . .ā[2]

    Not being a big fan of computers or the Internet, I adopted a hit and miss approach when trying to find information on That Eye The Sky. I searched under box office, box office figures, Australian movies, Australian box office (and Australian Box office figures), Australian cinema, That Eye The Sky, Australian reviews, box office figures 1994.  I even narrowed the search to Australian cinema: That Eye The Sky: 1994. The most I could find was a line here and there referring to That Eye The Sky as a movie that was made either at the same time as another movie, or with the same director/cinematographer etc. Then someone directed me to the IMDb site where (as shown above) there was slightly more information but not much to show how the movie was received at the time of its release. This could be taken as an example of how little coverage Australian cinema gets from international and national corners, but I tend to believe itās just that the movie didnāt warrant enough attention from audiences to make it worth full coverage. It did receive critical acclaim. It was the winner of the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival, the Film Critics Circle of Australia Best Supporting Actress and the Young Actorās Award at the 1995 A.F.I Awards. At the 1995 A.F.I Awards it was also nominated for the following[3]: Best Achievement in Cinematography

                                                                              Best Achievement in Costume Design

                                                                              Best Achievement in Production Design

                                                                              Best Actress in a Lead Role

                                                                              Best Director

                                                                              Best Film

                                                                              Best Screenplay, Adapted

    However,  must admit (on a more personal note) that I had a hard time getting into the movie and I am a big fan of Tim Wintonās work. I think That Eye The Sky is a wonderful story and I read the book at least once a year. Maybe it did deserve all those nominations, but from the point of view of the audience I can see that the movie itself was hard to get into.

 

 

 

 

v    Critical Review

    That Eye The Sky is based on the novel by the same name, by Australian author Tim Winton. It is told through the eyes of 12-year-old Morton ćOrtä Flack. He lives in the bush outside the city with his mum and dad, and older sister Tegwyn. At the beginning of he story his dad is in a car accident. When he comes out of the coma heās basically a vegetable. He canāt walk, talk, feed himself, and bathe himself . . . he doesnāt respond to them at all. As though life for a pre-pubescent boy on the verge of entering high school isnāt tough enough, Ort must now deal with the changing structure of his family. Elevated to the role of  ćMan of the houseä Ortās no longer the baby of the family. He and his mother and sister must now take care of both their grandma and father.

    Enter the stranger, one Henry Warburton, who at first says heās just come to help with taking care of Sam. After heās been with the Flackās for a while though, he brings up the real reason ö heās come to bring the word of God to the Flack family. He teaches them all about Christmas, baptism, Easter and the Passover. He baptizes them and teaches them about communion.

    Thereās so much in the book that the movie left out. In the book Ort starts high school, and he and Alice Flack go to Church a couple of times. Itās all part of Ortās changing world. The characters are different. Henry Warburton has a glass eye and a speech impediment in the book, and Tegwyn is a lot angrier than the movie makes out. Sam Flack has a hole in his throat that the doctors made to help him breathe after his accident.  Also, the movie plays down the role of the Cherrys. In particular, Mr. Cherry and his son Fat (also Ort's best friend) who feature quite prominently at the beginning of the book. The credits at the end of the movie say ćFeaturing Paul Sonkilla as Mr. Cherryä. I donāt understand why they make such a point of it because the role of Mr. Cherry in the movie is so small.

    The main difference I noticed between the movie and the book is that the book is told entirely through Ortās eyes. All his observations and thoughts about Henry Warburton and his family; and life in general; have no real place in the movie. Yet thatās what makes up the story. A lot of the books charm (for me, at least) came from the way Ort spoke, his thoughts on Henry and religion, his fears about his dad and the sadness and confusion he felt at having a sister who hates the world.

    The director, John Ruane, also directed 1998ās Dead Letter Office and Death in Brunswick (1991). The production company Working Title Films has produced all types of films, including Bean: The Movie, 2001ās Bridget Jonesās Diary, and Notting Hill (starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant). Between 1994 and 1995, Working Title also produced a number of smaller films. Four Weddings and a Funeral, Dead Man Walking, and French Kiss. These were all relatively small films, two quirky comedies and a drama. So That Eye The Sky fits in quite nicely. Itās a drama, but the elements of supernatural and the characters ensure it still retains quirkiness.

    On a list of 62 titles (of Working Film Productions alone) That Eye The Sky was down as number 58. It had twenty votes for it[4] which when compared to the 10260 votes for Bridget Jonesās Diary show that it is still a fairly unknown film. Indeed, most of the films listed with over 500 votes are British or American. Theyāre not huge budget films either, yet they are still better known than Australian films.

    This tells me that to the average cinema-goer Australian films are not widely known or received. This is probably due in part to the lack of fanfare with which they are released.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

v    Bibliography

Books

 

Winton, Tim. 1986, That Eye The Sky, McPhee Gribble Publishers, Victoria

 

Oral Information

 

That Eye The Sky, Dir. John Ruane, Beyond Films Ltd and Working Title Films Ltd

 

Electronic Sources

 

Donaghy, Nicholas. 2000, Not too bad, but that ending . . . ouch Available World Wide Web: URL: http://us.imdb.com/CommentsShow?0111407 (Accessed 12/05/2002

 

Awards for That Eye, the Sky (1994) Available World Wide Web: URL: http://us.imdb.com/Tawards?0111407 (Accessed 12/05/2002)

 

Full Cast and Crew for That Eye, the Sky Available World Wide Web: URL: http://us.imdb.com/Credits?0111407 (Accessed 12/05/2002)

 

John Ruane: Combined filmography Availaible World Wide Web: URL: http://us.imdb.com/Aname?Ruane,+John

 

Titles produced by Working Title Films [uk] Available World Wide Web: URL: http://us.imdb.com/List?production-companies=Working+Title+Films+[uk]&&tv=on&&  (Accessed 12/05/2002)

 

            Titles produced by Beyond Films Limited Available World Wide Web: URL: http://us.imdb.com/List?production-companies=Beyond+Films+Limited&&tv=on&&

 

             


[1] Available World Wide Web: URL: http://us.imdb.com/Credits?0111407 (Accessed 12/05/2002)

[2] Donaghy, Nicholas. 2000, Not too bad, but that ending . . . ouch Available World Wide Web: URL: http://us.imdb.com/CommentsShow?0111407 (Accessed 12/05/2002

[3] Available World Wide Web: URL: http://us.imdb.com/Tawards?0111407 (Accessed 12/05/2002)

[4] Available World Wide Web: URL: http://us.imdb.com/List?production-companies=Working+Title+Films+[uk]&&tv=on&&  (Accessed 12/05/2002)