Review of Evil Angels (1988) by Jeffrey L — 08 Jan 2013

Another film to showcase Meryl Streep's brilliant acting gift towards playing a non-fictional character, A Cry in the Dark gives the Oscar winner another worthy credit to her already lengthy resume and elaborates on a fascinating true story. As a dynamite cast unites for a long and depressing yet ultimately uplifting film, most will be mesmerized by the production unit; despite its low documentary-like filming (which some may view as an asset).

Set in 1980 (to start) and traveling forward in the years to come for almost a decade, the story of Lindy and Michael Chamberlain is told straight and forward in this fascinating film as the events following the death of their infant daughter unfold. Though the mother (Streep) claims the child was stolen by a dingo while they were camping in the outback, further evidence suggests the child was murdered. This then leads to a two-year murder trial which produces unfortunate results.

Streep is perfectly cast here (as usual) and Sam Neill is positively spectacular playing her grieving husband. In addition, beautiful Australian scenery helps serve the purpose of attractive visuals very nicely. Though the story is tragic, the downhill spiral which resulted in the lives of the accused never gets more attention than it is supposed to, preventing the film from wallowing in unpleasantness (a good thing in this instance). Despite a lengthy runtime, the film never lags and manages to tackle each aspect with the appropriate coverage (not missing any important details and not sticking on any aspects for too long).

Another non-fictional story adapted to cinema, many will view this as one of the worthier films, not superficial like many others. With the expert cast and filming aspects, you cannot go wrong. Parents may keep special watch over their youngsters even more after seeing this. It also was Dorothy Alison's last cinematic film.