In The Winter Dark

^{ãYouâd think youâd be able to
rearrange things from the past in new ways to please yourself...}

^{Youâd think your mindâd want to do it for you...}

^{In my dreams it all happens as it
happened...}

^and^{ÊI see it and be it again and again and the
confusion never wears off..ä}

^{Maurice Stubbs (Ray Barrett)}

Assignment 2 - ãIn The Winter Darkä (dir: James Bogle 1998)

By Steve Thomas ö 30340513

For the unit Australian Cinema, Murdoch University (2005)

Tutor ö Dr Garry Gillard

Cast

Brenda Blethyn · Ida Stubbs [More]

Ray Barrett · Maurice Stubbs [More]

Richard Roxburgh · Murray Jacob [More]

Miranda Otto · Ronnie [More]

Steve Le Marquand · Nick [More]

Justin Monjo · Circus Man [More]

Les Dayman · Minister (as Leslie Dayman) [More]

Marjorie Child · Cat Woman [More]

Crew

Directed by

James Bogle [More]

Written by

James Bogle

Peter Rasmussen [More]

From the novel of the same name by Tim Winton

Produced by

Rosemary Blight · (producer) [More] [More]

Kylie Du Fresne · (associate producer) [More]

Brenda Pam · (co-producer) [More]

Marion Pilowsky · (executive producer) [More]

Original Music by

Peter Cobbin [More]

Cinematography by

Martin McGrath [More]

Film Editing by

Suresh Ayyar [More]

Production Design by

Nicholas McCullum [More]

Casting

Shouna Wolifson [More]

Costume Design by

Wendy Cork [More]

Production Management

Sam Thompson [More]

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

Bob Donaldson · first assistant director [More]

Kylie Du Fresne · third assistant director

Jennifer Rees-Brown ·second assistant director [More]

Art Department

Geoff Howe · construction coordinator [More]

Sound Department

Brent Burge · dialogue editor [More]

Phil Keros · sound recordist [More]

Sue Kerr · boom operator [More]

Nada Mikas · assistant sound editor [More]

Robert Sullivan · sound re-record mixer [More]

Visual Effects by

Kirsty Miller · digital compositor [More]

Stunts

Nash Edgerton · stunt double: Richard Roxburgh [More]

Other crew

Tom Burstall · risk manager [More]

Lynn-Maree Danzey · continuity [More]

Christian Gazal · assistant editor [More]

Philip Le Masurier · still photographer [More]

Scott lovelock · production runner [More]

Production Companies

R.B. Films Pty. Ltd. [au] [More]

Distributors

Cowboy Booking International [us]

21 Century (video)

Special Effects

Animal Logic [au]

Runtime: 92 min

Country: Australia

Language: English

Colour: Colour

Sound Mix: Dolby

Classification: M (Adult Themes, Medium Level Violence, Medium Level Coarse Language)

Genre: Drama, Psychological Thriller

Release Dates

Australia ·Sept 1998(Through Globe Film Co).Although it had its world wide premiere as the opening film for the 45^th Sydney Film Festival, June 5 1998. [More]

USA · January 2002, limited release, (Through Cowboy Pictures and Code Red) Ê

New Zealand · N/A

Sales have been to

South Africa, Brunei, Croatia, Mexico, Canada, Spain, and Israel. Note: some are television sales only.

Nominations

1998 - 3 AFI Nominations

Best Actor - Ray Barrett

Best Supporting Actress ö Miranda Otto

Best Cinematography ö Martin McGrath ACS

Festivals Ê

1998 Sydney Film Festival

1998 Toronto Film Festival

1998 London Film Festival

1998 Hof (German) Film Festival

1999 Goteburg (Sweden) Film Festival

1999 Palm Springs (USA) Film Festival

1999 Seattle (USA) Film Festival

1999 Singapore Film Festival

1999 Taberina Island of Cinema Festival

1999 Haifa International Film Festival

1999 Dublin Film Festival

1999 Fantasporto ö Festival International de Cinema Porto

1999 Sitges International Film Festival Spain

1999 Hawaii Film Festival

Box Office

1998 - $100,635, Rank 208th for the year. The following link is the only place I could find any box office information. http://www.moviemarshal.com/boxaus1998.html

Budgets

$3.2 million

Marketing Budget N/A

Gross Income N/A

Production

Although the story of Tim Wintonâs novel is set around Nannup, in the south of Western Australia, the screen adaptation was filmed at Kanimbla Valley in the Blue Mountains of NSW. This was probably because the New South Wales Film & Television Office providing some of the funding. The shoot took 5 ö 6 weeks to complete.

The film was financed by the Australian Film Finance Corporation Limited.

Production was in association with the Premium Movie Partnership for Showtime Australia with assistance and finance from the New South Wales Film and Television Office Sydney, Australia.

International Sales arranged by Southern Star Film Sales.

Reviews

Andrew L. Urban

ã·a rich if puzzling film that introduces Bogle as a fascinating new filmmaking talent."

http://www.urbancinefile.com.au/home/view.asp?a=1202&s=Reviews

David Edwards

ãIn the Winter Dark is an accomplished effort from James Bogle - a menacing, moody contemplation on the darkness in all of us."

http://www.urbancinefile.com.au/home/view.asp?a=1202&s=Reviews

Louise Keller

ãIn the Winter Dark is not a film for everyone: while its performances and cinematic skills are exemplary, it exudes a cold remoteness, which while intriguing, keep emotions at bay, making it a film to watch rather than to feel. "

http://www.urbancinefile.com.au/home/view.asp?a=1202&s=Reviews

David Stratton

ãIn The Winter Dark, stunningly shot by Martin McGrath, is an intense, intelligent movie.ä

http://www.sbs.com.au/movieshow/index.php3?action=review&id=264

Tim Richards

ãIn the Winter Dark is a intriguingly moody character-driven tale which explores the borders of fear and reality. Recommended.ä

http://www.stageleft.com.au/parallax/wintdark.html

Further Reviews

http://www.zeal.com/category/preview.jhtml?cid=10040066

http://www.mrqe.com/lookup?isindex=in+the+winter+dark

Interviews

It was hard finding interviews with the people involved with making this film, but there were some.

James Bogle (Co-Writer/Director)

^{Andrew L.Urban
talks to James about who killed the animals - Ê}

^{http://www.urbancinefile.com.au/home/view.asp?a=1473&s=Interviews}

^{Suresh Ayyar
(Film Editing)}

^{Cindy Clarkson talks to Suresh
at the Melbourne International film Festival.}

^{http://www.screeneditors.com/news/19a13.htm}

^{Miranda Otto (Ronnie)}

^{Margaret Smith interviews
Miranda about family, career, and philosophy.}

^{The interview was in Cinema
Papers, October 1997, iss 120, but can be viewed
here.}

^{http://www.tolkien-movies.com/words/2000/03-01-00b.htm}

^{Rosemary Blight (producer)}

^{Here Rosemary answers
questions before a senate legal and constitutional legislation committee in
1999. This PDF file is 75 pages, so a search [within the PDF] for Ms Blight
might help.}

^{http://www.aph.gov.au/hansard/senate/commttee/s2233.pdf}

^{Net Presence}

^{Most of the information
about this film was sourced from The Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com). What I couldnât find there I
found at (http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=162715),
for example casting information. The easiest to find on the net were the
reviews. A Google search found most of these, and I found that putting quotes
around the search was handy, especially for names, and to eliminate problems
with the length of the title.}

^{Although it was hard to find
interviews with people involved in the production, there was background
information to be found, for example;ÊÊ}

^{James Bogle - http://www.screenwest.com.au/index.cfm?objectid=7E9ECA95-C09F-1F3C-C8BB3D99DB7C937D&navid=9CD848AD-C09F-1F3C-C8B2FDD4B037EF9C}

^{Martin McGrath - http://www.acs.asn.au/news/general/2003/mcgrathmilli}

^{Ray Barrett - http://theavengers.tv/forever/pnote-barrett.htm}

^{Also to be found are the fan
sites of some of the actors;}

^{Brenda Blethyn
- http://www.brendablethyn.info/}

^{Richard Roxburgh - http://bsd4us.org/~karin/rrfan/}

^{Miranda Otto - http://miranda-otto.com/}

^{Apart from what I could find
on the net, there were two other sources from which information could be gleaned
for this part of the assignment;}

^{A press kit obtained from RB
films, and,}

^{Emails to and from ÊRB films (My thanks
to Kylie Du Fresne).}

^ÊÊ

^{ãI have an Ida dream. All the time. Some nights I have it so bad it has me waking
up thinking I am Ida.}

We dream it because we have to.

We never found a way to talk about

it in the thirty years weâd been together.ä

^{Maurice Stubbs (Ray Barrett)}

^{The film, In The Winter
Dark, starts in the middle of a scene (in
medias res). Ronnie (Miranda Otto) is sprawled out on the inside roof of a
flipped vehicle. Maurice (Ray Barrrett) is walking towards
the prostrate but still moving form of Ida (Brenda Blethyn).
She dies as he gathers her up in his arms. It is immediately obvious that some
awful drama has brought these characters to this juncture in time.}

^{The plot then takes us back twelve months to a time
when Murray (Richard Roxburgh), strolling out from the farmhouse across the
paddock, is the first to notice a lurking presence of something moving in the nearby
bush.}

^{From this point we are taken to visit all the
characters one by one in their respective homes. Maurice and Ida are in the
kitchen talking about their dog being tied up because it has messed on the
floor, conveying the idea that the dog has sensed ÊÊsomething sinister out there.}

^{Ronnie is sitting in her darkened lounge room near
an open fire taking an acid trip. Murray
too, is in his lounge, relaxing in front of an open fire, reading a book, a
glass of wine in hand, listening to ãWelcome to my Worldä by Jim Reeves.}

^{The plot now takes us back to Maurice and Idaâs
house, where the dog is barking, ÊÊprompting Maurice to go outside to
investigate. Glimpsing a shadowy movement behind a fence post prompts him to ask
Ida for his gun, but the shadowy form has vanished by the time he is ready to
shoot.}

^{Next morning Maurice is out investigating the area
around the fence post and finds a large paw print, and proceeds
to makes a plaster cast of it. What follows is a series of events that builds
the increasing threat of the ominous shadowy form. Maurice and Ida find a
kangaroo caught in a fence with its throat torn out. Ronnie, who is in a panic,
wakes Murray
saying ãtheyâre all deadä, referring to her ducks. Not being a farmer Murray is
at a loss to know what to do about the dead birds. He takes off into town. Itâs
a Sunday, but he still tries to contact the Shire Council. While in town he
meets up with Ida and they discuss the mysterious sightings of shadowy forms glimpsed
in the bush, the slaughtered ducks, and mentions his intention to notify the
Shire Council or maybe the Agriculture Department. But Ida responds by saying
ãyou donât want those twits over there,ä and, ãthis is a matter we can sort out
ourselvesä. As Ida is driving home to the farm she remembers in flashback her
previous encountering a crashed circus truck, where people are trying to secure
cages containing several large cats. The implication is that one or more large
cats could have escaped their cages.}

^{Meanwhile, back at the farm the situation forces
the four characters into interacting with each other as they seek to deal with the
menace. Murray and Ronnie cautiously gravitate toward each other, while Murray
and Maurice also begin forming a bond while out hunting. Ronnie and Ida share a
hilariously drunken evening while the guys are out hunting.}

^{But increasingly, the stresses of their situation work
to sabotage their tenuous relationships. After more sheep are killed, they are
forced to meet again and the discussions escalate into mutual paranoid accusations.}

^{Ida is in despair and heads off into the night. Ronnie,
pregnant, starts to have contractions. They decide they must get her to
hospital and on the way search for Ida. Maurice is driving too fast and flips
the ute. He manages to exit
the flipped vehicle with rifle in hand. He notices a shadowy movement in some
bushes and prepares to shoot. Murray, now also out of the vehicle, sees that,
what Maurice is aiming at, is in fact Ida, but is too late to stop Maurice
firing. Murray
now turns his attention to Ronnie, dragging her out of the vehicle. He then
manages to right the vehicle and drives off into the night with Ronnie.}

^{Finding his shovel on the ground Maurice proceeds
to bury Idaâs body where she fell. This brings us back full circle to the
opening scene.}

^{The film concludes with Maurice, a year later,
sitting on his back veranda, lonely and reflecting on the vicissitudes of life.}

^{For my part ãIn The Winter
Darkä is that it is a successful movie that observes the characterâs slide into
the debilitating realms of paranoia and fear. The skilful amalgamation of
suspense, flashbacks, music, lighting and cinematography, draws the audience
into the unfolding drama. I feel though, that the character of Ronnie would
have benefited from further development. Ê}

^{In the Winter Dark is Bogleâs first big budget film
and continues his theme of ãdarkä movies, following on from Kadaicha (1988), a
horror film about Aboriginal mysticism, Êand ÊMad Bomber in Love
(1992), aboutÊ a Êmadman terrorising his flatmates.}

^{Bogleâs films fit into the Australian film making
landscape in that they characteristically ãconcentrate more on the spaces that
separate people, on communities that stifle the spirit, and circumstances that
drive lovers apart·ä and the ãAustralian cinema can be said to emphasise
struggle and sacrifice against the land itself and against the societies that
the inhabitants have created for themselves. Characters are repeatedly
alienated and driven apart, condemned to loneliness, or the very least to being
alone.ä (Enker 1994)}

^{This is exactly how Maurice ended up, being alone.}

^{Bogle made In The Winter
Dark in 1998, a time in which the production of feature films in Australia was ã·at
itâs peak of 38 features [worth $166 million] in 1997/98. But Hollywood
studio films, with celebrated cast and large production and promotional
budgets, continue to dominate the box office as they do around the world.
Australian films earned, on average, 6 per cent of the gross Australian box
office during the 90âs.ä (Reid 1999, p9)}

^{With this kind of domination by Hollywood, Australian producers need to find innovative
ways to get their movies made. For example, Rosemary Blight (producer of In The Winter Dark) has teamed up with five other producers to
form Essential Viewing. Hilton says that this would provide a ãmore systematic
and strategicä approach, especially to film production. [1]}

^{Further Links}

^{In Tim Wintonâs novel ãIn the Winter Darkä and
Bogleâs film adaptation of the same name, there is something menacing the
inhabitants of the valley. We donât actually see this menace and so are left to
wonder what it actually was. The following links provide some possible
explanations.}

^{http://www.webace.com.au/~pwest/marca/index.html}

^{http://www.traveldownunder.com.au/Western_Australia/South_West/Nannup_Tiger.asp}

^{Ê Ê}

^{ãSometimes I see a shadow between trees, but I know
toÊÊÊÊÊ leave these things alone now.Ê}

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ I make my confessions and wait

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ for redemption, or punishment.

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ But thereâs only the sunrise.ä

^ÊÊÊÊÊ^{Maurice Stubbs (Ray Barrett)}

^Bibliography

^Enker^{ÊDebi 1994, Australia
and the Australians, chapter 8, pp 210-225 in Scott Murrey (ed)
Australian Cinema.Ê}

^{Reid Mary Anne 1999, More Long Shots: Australian
cinema successes in the 90âs, Sydney: Australian
film Commission, Brisbane:
Australian key centre for culture and media policy.Ê ÊÊÊ}

^{[1] Producers unite for Essential Viewing}

^{(online) http://www.urbancinefile.com.au/home/view.asp?Article_ID=10280}

^{Accessed 20/04/05}

^{Ê ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ}

^{ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ}

Ê ÊÊ