SAMPSON AND DELILAH - REVIEW
April 29th 2009 18:47
RELEASE DATE : May 09
RUNNING TIME: 101 minutes
CAST:
Rowan McNamara – Samson
Marissa Gibson – Delilah
Nana – Mitjili Gibson
Gonzo – Scott Thornton
DIRECTOR: Warwick Thornton
WRITING CREDITS: Warwick Thornton
DISTRIBUTOR: PARAMOUNT ( Footprint Films)
SYNOPSIS:
Samson and Delilah’s world is small – an isolated desert community in Central Australia where everything here happens in a cycle. Day in and day out – nothing changes and no one seems to care. Unable to express his desire for something more, Samson’s private escape comes in a tin – he’s a petrol sniffer. When a violent eruption takes place at home his journey begins.
Sixteen year-old Delilah is the sole carer of her artist grandmother. When Nana passes away Delilah is held responsible and the traditional punishment is harsh. Battered and bruised, an unlikely young man comes to Delilah’s rescue. Samson. In a stolen car with no food, money or idea where they are headed they turn their backs on the community.
The two teenagers soon discover life outside the community can be cruel. Though hungry and rejected they fall in love. It is the only thing they have that is real. Delilah searches for a way to improve their situation and begins to paint. but no one is buying. In frustration she pushes her work at potential buyers aware of them not wanting her. Samson tags along with his petrol tin.
Exhausted and belittled Delilah also falls prey to Samson’s demon. By accident the two young lovers are forcibly separated and Delilah starts a journey of her own – a journey to a better place. As Samson slowly self-destructs alone and under the bridge, Delilah’s love guides him home.
REVIEW:
Initially it seems the two lead characters couldn’t be more different, but it is those differences and the appalling circumstances they find each other in that ultimately brings them together. Upon the death of Delilah’s grandmother a unusual bond begins to grow between two outcasts whom society doesn’t seem to care or want to know about. Why should we care? It is the white man’s ‘civilisation’ that has created this lost world that the Samson and Delilah now find themselves in.
The minimal dialogue and emphasis on body language amongst the two leads
Is at times amusing as Delilah and Samson argue about him ‘moving in’, throwing the foam mattress from one side of the fence to the other, but it soon becomes an extremely powerful element within the film itself as the two main characters struggle against their demons, both physically and emotionally.
Out of petrol and almost out of money, once again we see society’s stereotypes at the fore. When Delilah heads into the supermarket looking for whatever she can buy with the little money she has left, she is shadowed by a security guard throughout the store and later on shunned when she tries to find a way to provide through her own artwork. There is little or no trust in this troubled world and assumptions are made immediately by the ignorant locals who only see what they want to see.
Thornton’s visualisation of the end result of the treatment of the indigenous people to a point where there is only the scantest hint of hope for many doesn’t hit you straight away. At first you think you might just be having a slow start and things will pick up tempo soon, yet the film continues along the same vein. But in the end, you don’t mind, in fact you understand the need to travel at this pace. There is no need to speed things up. Samson and Delilah don’t have to be anywhere fast. When the situations they find themselves in become increasingly distressing the action slows down further into a dreamlike state. It seems that there is no way out of the mess the two find themselves in and the only thing left is to become that sterotype that everyone expects of them.
An amusing scene when Gonzo (the alcoholic who has befriended them living under the bridge) heads off to stay with some ‘good’ Christians who have offered to put a roof over his head once again underlies the ignorance of the white man. A quick fix and an offer of salvation through religion is the only way we can justify what we have done in the past and everyone must accept this opinionated point of view. It is only when someone arrives from the outback community that they have run away from to take them home is any real offer of help made.
The direction Thornton takes in telling this story is crucial to the success of this film. The storytelling of the aboriginal people quite often takes its time and this is reflected in the way that he structures the young lovers journey. There is no rush. It takes time to find your way. For some it takes a little longer.
Both lead actors are first timers who grew up as community kids. Perhaps that is why their performances are so good. Drawing on their own experiences in these remote communities has obviously helped them to tell this story not only about love, but about finding where you fit in and offers a sense of realism that could have been lost in casting seasoned actors.
A film on the struggles of young aboriginal kids in outback Australia. Sometimes no matter how good a film is there is going to be a massive struggle. A film where there is little or no dialogue doesn’t really have an enormous appeal. Hopefully, this film will find its way to a wider audience then just the art-house circuit. For too long these stories have been sugar coated in order to appeal to the mainstream. As uncomfortable as we might feel watching, this is how the story should be told. First hand.
RANKING 8/10
To find out more about the movie head to www.samsonanddelilah.com.au
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SimonC
