Directed by: Fred Schepisi
Starring: Meryl Streep, Sam Neill
"The dingo took my baby," screams Lindy Chamberlain (Streep) as she witnesses a dingo raid her camping tent in the dark of night and run off with her ten-week-old baby in its jaws. The baby, Azaria, was never found, just her clothing in tatters were discovered nearby. A matinee jacket which Lindy sewed herself was not found. At first, the Australian press and public were sympathetic and supportive of Lindy and her husband Michael (Neill) over this sad turn of events, but then the Northwest Territory police begin a further investigation and suspect Lindy of murdering the baby. Because Michael is a Seven Day Adventist pastor and the family belongs to the minority religion, the media and the public also turn on the Chamberlains, turning their lives into a nightmare.
A Cry in the Dark is the depiction of this terrible period in the lives of the Chamberlains, beginning in August 1980 with the disappearance of Azaria and until September of 1988 when the Chamberlains were cleared of all wrongdoing. In that stretch, Lindy was convicted of murder and served three plus years before the discovery of the matinee jacket and her subsequent release from prison.
Since the film's release, coroners confirmed the baby's death was caused by a dingo and not murder, and the Chamberlains were awarded $1.3 million in damages for wrongful imprisonment, which covered about one-third of their legal costs. This does not, however, restore them. Michael passed away in 2017 and Lindy is still known as the woman whose baby was taken by a dingo and whose trial was a media spectacle. And they were innocent.
Streep and Neill are sympathetic and human here, with foibles, imperfections, and bottled up anger over the circus that has become their lives. Lindy's hostility comes pouring out on the witness stand, and jurors took that to mean she was guilty, but let's think about it: If you were innocent and people were still accusing you of murdering your baby, wouldn't you be frustrated and bewildered that you have to go through a trial? And deal with the public scrutinizing your every move?
A Cry in the Dark cuts away numerous times to scenes of ordinary people debating or watching the trial and its inherent drama. There are even fistfights over the argument of Lindy's guilt or innocence. Meryl Streep was Oscar-nominated for her performance, as she was nineteen other times, and this performance is less flashy and all the more powerful for it. She holds her emotions in, and keeps things tight to the vest. She rarely has a scene in which she completely loses control, and it's a study in mannered anger. It is quite effective. Sam Neill is also compelling as a man whose complete trust in God is shaken by doubt over the events which unfold. Like Lindy, he manages to maintain more composure than most would in his situation. Michael is convicted of being an accessory to murder after the fact, but his sentence is suspended after Lindy was found guilty.
Director and co-writer Fred Schepisi focuses his outrage on the Australian media sensationalism which fueled the case and even caused police to continue an investigation even when an initial inquest exonerated the Chamberlains. We witness how media coverage can spark misinformation, and how people's already unfounded fears can be further inflamed. Could this apply to all media all over the world? Absolutely. A Cry in the Dark feels as contemporary today as it did forty years ago, and that shows there hasn't been much progress. In fact, with the advent of social media and the 24-hour news cycle, misinformation runs more rampant than ever before. The irony is, we have such immediate access to real information, and yet we are still misinformed and prejudiced.
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