The Daltons’ family unit, which also includes daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler) are strangely drawn to Paddy, his partner Ciara (Aisling Franciosi) and their son Ant (Dan Hough). Louise is hesitant but Ben sees a free spirit in Paddy that he misses in himself and is willing to look past the eccentricities that Paddy has in overabundance. After the Italian holiday finishes, they are invited to join their new friends at their home in England.

What starts as a fairly straightforward domestic tale turns very strange as the threesome ventures into the weird world of Paddy and his farm. As the oddities add up slowly at first and then quickly, the dynamic changes. Then things take a step to the extreme. Friendship turns adversarial and it makes you look at things in an entirely different manner.

James McAvoy’s acting chops are on full display here. He keeps you on the knife’s edge throughout with a performance that is both unsettling and menacing. This is needed to keep your interest as the story slows down and offers few surprises in the final reel. In the parlance of gymnastics, Speak No Evil fails to stick the landing. With McAvoy’s performance in mind, it’s still a worthwhile view but has the aftereffect of preventing you from ever becoming friends with strangers you meet on holiday.
Rob Hudson
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From Blumhouse, the producer of The Black Phone, Get Out and The Invisible Man, comes an intense suspense thriller for our modern age, starring BAFTA award-winner James McAvoy (Split, Glass) in a riveting performance as the charismatic, alpha-male estate owner whose untrammeled hospitality masks an unspeakable darkness.

Speak No Evil stars Mackenzie Davis (Terminator: Dark Fate, Halt and Catch Fire) and SAG award-winner Scoot McNairy (Argo, A Quiet Place Part II) as American couple Louise and Ben Dalton, who, along with their 11-year-old daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler; The Good Nurse, Riverdale), accept the weekend-holiday invitation of Paddy (McAvoy), his wife Ciara (Aisling Franciosi; Game of Thrones, The Fall) and their furtive, mute son Ant (newcomer Dan Hough).

Written for the screen and directed by James Watkins, the writer-director of Eden Lake and the award-winning gothic ghost story The Woman in Black, Speak No Evil is based on the screenplay of the 2022 Danish horror sensation Gæsterne, written by Christian Tafdrup and Mads Tafdrup. That film earned 11 Danish Film Awards nominations, the Danish equivalent of the Oscars.

Speak No Evil is produced by Jason Blum (Five Nights at Freddy’s, M3GAN) for Blumhouse and by Paul Ritchie (McMafia, The Ipcress File) and is executive produced by Beatriz Sequeira for Blumhouse, Jacob Jarek and Christian Tafdrup.
www.facebook.com/UniversalPicturesAU/

From Blumhouse, the producer of The Black Phone, Get Out and The Invisible Man, comes an intense suspense thriller for our modern age, starring BAFTA award-winner James McAvoy (Split, Glass) in a riveting performance as the charismatic, alpha-male estate owner whose untrammeled hospitality masks an unspeakable darkness.

Speak No Evil stars Mackenzie Davis (Terminator: Dark Fate, Halt and Catch Fire) and SAG award-winner Scoot McNairy (Argo, A Quiet Place Part II) as American couple Louise and Ben Dalton, who, along with their 11-year-old daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler; The Good Nurse, Riverdale), accept the weekend-holiday invitation of Paddy (McAvoy), his wife Ciara (Aisling Franciosi; Game of Thrones, The Fall) and their furtive, mute son Ant (newcomer Dan Hough).

Written for the screen and directed by James Watkins, the writer-director of Eden Lake and the award-winning gothic ghost story The Woman in Black, Speak No Evil is based on the screenplay of the 2022 Danish horror sensation Gæsterne, written by Christian Tafdrup and Mads Tafdrup. That film earned 11 Danish Film Awards nominations, the Danish equivalent of the Oscars.

Speak No Evil is produced by Jason Blum (Five Nights at Freddy’s, M3GAN) for Blumhouse and by Paul Ritchie (McMafia, The Ipcress File) and is executive produced by Beatriz Sequeira for Blumhouse, Jacob Jarek and Christian Tafdrup.
www.facebook.com/UniversalPicturesAU/

Clare (Aisling Franciosi) is a young Irish convict who chases Hawkins (Sam Claflin) a repugnant British Officer across the Tasmanian wilderness in an act of revenge. Hawkins and some of his men have perpetrated unthinkable horrors upon Clare and her young family.

Clare enlists the help of Billy (Baykali Ganambarr), an Aboriginal tracker to aid in her quest. During their journey they learn to respect each other as they witness horrible savagery foisted upon the native Aboriginals by the white settlers. This is accomplished in a very unflinching way.

Writer/director Jennifer Kent follows up her film The Babadook with an amazingly powerful work that is unafraid to take sides and show the atrocities carried out on both the Aboriginal and convict populations of that period. While it is at times incredibly challenging to watch, it provides a great reward for those that are up to the task.

Rob Hudson
www.facebook.com/transmissionfilms

A powerful and beautifully crafted Australian story, THE NIGHTINGALE has received critical acclaim and captivated audiences around the world. The film premiered at Venice Film Festival 2018, where it was awarded the Special Jury Prize and Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Performer, before screening at Sundance Film Festival, Sydney Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival London and has been selected to screen at the upcoming Melbourne International Film Festival. The highly anticipated second feature film from Jennifer Kent (The Babadook), THE NIGHTINGALE releases nationally on August 29, 2019.

Written and Directed by Jennifer Kent, THE NIGHTINGALE is a meditation on the consequences of violence and the price of seeking vengeance. Set during the colonisation of Australia in 1825, the film follows Clare (Aisling Franciosi) as she chases a British officer (Sam Claflin) through the rugged Tasmanian wilderness, bent on revenge for a terrible act of violence he committed against her family. On the way she enlists the services of an Aboriginal tracker named Billy (Baykali Ganambarr), who is also marked by trauma from his own violence-filled past.

THE NIGHTINGALE features momentous performances by Aisling Franciosi (The Fall, Game of Thrones) and Sam Claflin (Their Finest, Me Before You), alongside Australian’s Baykali Ganambarr (in his first performance onscreen), Michael Sheasby (Hacksaw Ridge), Damon Herriman (Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, Justified), Harry Greenwood (Hacksaw Ridge) and Ewen Leslie (Sweet Country, Top Of The Lake).

Jennifer will be appearing at preview Q&A screenings in Sydney at Dendy Newtown and Chauvel Cinema on Sunday 18th August and Monday 19th August, in Melbourne at Cinema Nova on Tuesday 20th August and returning to Tasmania, where the film was shot, for a Q&A screening at the State Cinema on Wednesday 21st August. Full details and tickets are below.

Jennifer graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) and worked extensively in theatre, film and TV as an actor, before undertaking a directing apprenticeship on Dogville, directed by Lars von Trier in 2002. In 2010, Jennifer completed the script program at the Binger Filmlab in Amsterdam, where she developed her feature film The Babadook. The Babadook screened at Sundance Film Festival in January 2014 to critical and audience acclaim, and has won over 50 international and domestic awards.

THE NIGHTINGALE will release in cinemas nationally on August 29, 2019.

Q&A Screening Details
Sydney:
Sunday 18th August at 6pm
Dendy Newtown Q&A Preview Screening
261-263 King St, Newtown NSW
Tickets on sale here: www.dendy.com.au

Monday 19th August at 6.30pm
Chauvel Cinema Q&A Preview Screening
249 Oxford St, Paddington NSW
Tickets on sale here: www.palacecinemas.com.au

Melbourne:
Tuesday 20th August at 6.15pm
Cinema Nova Q&A Preview Screening
380 Lygon St, Carlton VIC
Tickets on sale here: www.cinemanova.com.au

Hobart:
Wednesday 21st August at 6.30pm
State Cinema Q&A Preview Screening
375 Elizabeth St, North Hobart TAS
Tickets on sale soon: www.statecinema.com.au

THE NIGHTINGALE, which enjoyed its world premiere on September 6 in Venice, was the only female-directed film to screen in competition at the festival. On receiving the Special Jury Prize over the weekend, Kent said “To all those women out there wanting to make films, please go and do it, we need you.”

THE NIGHTINGALE is Ganambarr’s first performance onscreen, where he stars in a lead role as Billy. He is a passionate dancer and actor, and performs with the internationally acclaimed Djuki Mala dance group.

Set in 1825, Clare, a young Irish convict woman, chases a British officer through the rugged Tasmanian wilderness, bent on revenge for a terrible act of violence he committed against her family. On the way she enlists the services of an Aboriginal tracker named Billy, who is also marked by trauma from his own violence-filled past. THE NIGHTINGALE stars Aisling Franciosi (Game of Thrones) and Sam Claflin (The Hunger Games) alongside Australia’s Baykali Ganambarr, Damon Herriman (Justified, Breaking Bad), Harry Greenwood (Hacksaw Ridge) and Ewen Leslie (Sweet Country).

This is the second year in a row an Australian film has been awarded the Special Jury Prize at the festival, with Warwick Thornton’s SWEET COUNTRY taking home the coveted prize in 2017. The film went on to make over $2 million dollars at the Australian box office.

“The Nightingale is a powerful and important story, one that we feel privileged to be working on. For the filmmaking team and newcomer Baykali Ganambarr to receive this recognition on the international stage is wonderful,” said Transmission Films Joint Managing Directors Andrew Mackie and Richard Payten.

THE NIGHTINGALE premieres in Australia on 13th October at the Adelaide Film Festival, with tickets now on sale. THE NIGHTINGALE will release nationally in Australia in 2019.
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