''Gross Misconduct'' is a 1993 Australian

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

directed by

George T. Miller George Trumbull Miller (born 28 November 1943) is a Scottish-Australian film and television director and producer. He has directed '' The Man from Snowy River'', '' The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter'' and ''Zeus and Roxanne''. He sta ...

. It stars

Jimmy Smits Jimmy L. Smits (born July 9, 1955) is an American actor. He is best known for playing attorney Victor Sifuentes on the 1980s-1990s legal drama '' L.A. Law'', NYPD Detective Bobby Simone on the 1990s-2000s police drama ''NYPD Blue'', Matt Santos ...

and

Naomi Watts Naomi Ellen Watts (born 28 September 1968) is a British actress. After her family moved to Australia, she made her film debut there in the drama '' For Love Alone'' (1986) and then appeared in three television series, '' Hey Dad..!'' (1990), '' ...

. It was nominated for an award by the

Australian Film Institute The Australian Film Institute (AFI) was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry. It is responsib ...

in 1993. The film has been described as an Australian version of '' Fatal Attraction''.

Plot

At an all-girls academy in Australia, a married philosophy professor, Justin Thorne, attracts a fervent admirer in one of his students, Jennifer Carter. Daughter of the school's headmaster, Jennifer is driven by a passion for the professor, practically throwing herself at him. Thorne resists repeatedly, but finally yields to temptation. Jennifer, feeling rejected later, accuses the professor of a sexual assault. A journal she has been keeping, fantasizing about a lover, makes it appear that she and the professor have been carrying on a long affair, placing Thorne's reputation and future in grave danger. After Thorne is found guilty in a jury trial it emerges that Jennifer's father has been sexually abusing her over some considerable time, and pesters her once again. This time she snaps, and stabs him in the face with a kitchen implement. The last scene shows Thorne emerging from jail, freed.

Cast

as Justin Thorne *

as Jennifer Carter * Sarah Chadwick as Laura Thorne *

Adrian Wright Adrian Wright (1 July 1947 – 28 November 2015) was English Australian actor remembered for his roles in the 1970s children's television series ''Freewheelers'' and the Australian serial ''Prisoner (TV series), Prisoner'' in which he played ma ...

as Kenneth Carter *Tara Judah as Nancy Thorne *Ross Williams as David Guilde *Goran Stamenkovic as Oliver Thorne

Story and production

The film was based on the play ''Assault With a Deadly Weapon'' which was written in 1969 by Lance Peters. It had been suggested by a 1955 scandal in

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

, where university professor Sydney Orr had been sacked from his job on grounds of gross misconduct. ''Gross Moral Turpitude'', Cassandra Pybus' book on the Orr case which also emerged in 1993, gives a very different reading on Orr from Peters' and this film's. She writes that "in the Orr case... it was almost universally accepted... that an academic who seduced a student should be dismissed. He did. He was." The movie was the first film to be produced by PRO Films in Australia, a subsidiary of R.A. Beacker & Co. It was shot at various locations around Melbourne, including

The University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

, the Melbourne Magistrates Court and

Queen Victoria Market The Queen Victoria Market (also known colloquially as Vic Market or Queen Vic) is a major landmark in the central business district (CBD) of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Covering over , it is the largest open air market in the Southern Hemi ...

Box office

''Gross Misconduct'' grossed $489,598 at the box office in Australia.

References

External links