''Last Cab to Darwin'' is a 2015 Australian film directed by

Jeremy Sims Jeremy Hartley Sims (born 10 January 1966) is an Australian actor and director. Career Jeremy Sims was born in Perth, Western Australia in 1966, and was educated at Wesley College 1977–83. His first appearance on the big screen was as 'boy on ...

and written by Sims and

Reg Cribb Reginald Cribb is an Australian playwright and actor. Early life Cribb graduated from National Institute of Dramatic Art at the University of New South Wales in 1990 and his first play, Night of the Sea Monkey, was performed in 1999. Plays ...

. Based on Cribb's 2003 play of the same name, it stars

Michael Caton Michael Caton (born 21 July 1943) is an Australian television, film and stage actor, comedian and television host, best known for playing Uncle Harry in the Australian television series '' The Sullivans'', Darryl Kerrigan in 1997's low-budget h ...

Ningali Lawford Ningali Josie Lawford, also known as Ningali Lawford-Wolf and Josie Ningali Lawford, (1967 – 11 August 2019) was an Aboriginal Australian actress known for her roles in the films ''Rabbit-Proof Fence'' (2002), ''Bran Nue Dae'' (2009), and '' ...

Mark Coles Smith Mark Coles Smith (born 1989) is an Indigenous Australian actor originally from Broome in Western Australia. He is known for his roles in '' Last Cab to Darwin'' (2015), '' Picnic at Hanging Rock'' (2018) and '' Occupation: Rainfall'' (2020), a ...

Emma Hamilton Dame Emma Hamilton (born Amy Lyon; 26 April 176515 January 1815), generally known as Lady Hamilton, was an English maid, model, dancer and actress. She began her career in London's demi-monde, becoming the mistress of a series of wealthy me ...

, and

Jacki Weaver Jacqueline Ruth Weaver (born 25 May 1947) is an Australian theatre, film and television actress. Weaver emerged in the 1970s as a symbol of the Australian New Wave through her work in Ozploitation films such as '' Stork'' (1971), ''Alvin Purp ...

, who was in the original cast of the play. Like the play, the film was inspired by the true story of Max Bell, a taxi driver who traveled from Broken Hill to Darwin to seek euthanasia after he was diagnosed with a terminal illness. The film received positive reviews and was nominated for nine

AACTA Awards The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, known as the AACTA Awards, are presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). The awards recognise excellence in the film and television industr ...

, winning Best Actor for Caton and Best Adapted Screenplay for Sims and Cribb.

Plot

Rex, a taxi driver in his 70s, has spent nearly his entire life in the

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

city of Broken Hill. He has a group of friends, but never had a family of his own and has no family members remaining. He has a close relationship with his Aboriginal neighbor Polly, but because of racial tensions, is resistant to becoming romantically involved. Rex's life changes when he is diagnosed with cancer and told he will not survive longer than three months. Refusing to become committed to a hospital, he learns that a

euthanasia device A euthanasia device is a machine engineered to allow an individual to die quickly with minimal pain. The most common devices are those designed to help terminally ill people die by voluntary euthanasia or assisted suicide without prolonged pain. ...

has been invented by Dr. Nicole Farmer at a clinic in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

capital city of Darwin. Rex contacts Dr. Farmer and volunteers to serve as the device's first patient. Due to euthanasia only being legal in the Northern Territory, Rex embarks on a 3,000 kilometer journey to Darwin to end his life on his own terms. He leaves behind a will, which grants ownership of his home to Polly. On the way to Darwin, Rex is joined by Tilly, an Aboriginal

drifter A drifter is a vagrant who moves from place to place without a fixed home or employment. Drifter(s) or The Drifter(s) may also refer to: Films and television Films * ''The Drifter'' (1917 film), an American film directed by Fred Kelsey * ''Th ...

. Tilly reveals to Rex that he turned down an offer to join a football club and eventually admits he did so out of fear. The men are later accompanied by Julie, an English backpacker and nurse. When they reach their destination, the group learns from Dr. Farmer that euthanasia cannot legally proceed without approval from a psychological and medical expert. As he waits to be interviewed by the experts, Rex has Tilly join the football club he originally turned down. He also contacts Polly, despite her anger at him for trying to end his life, and admits that he wanted to ask for her hand in marriage. She calls him back and says she would have accepted. Rex's interview with a medical expert becomes delayed and he winds up becoming hospitalized, which he was attempting to avoid. Unable to wait any longer, Rex has Julie hook him up to the device and answers the questions required to initiate the euthanasia procedure, but as the drugs start to head towards his bloodstream, he disconnects himself. Deciding he does not want to end his life, Rex drives back to Broken Hill, assisted by medication Julie provided. While Rex heads home with minimal rest, Tilly prepares to play in his first football game and Julie returns to England. Arriving at his house, an exhausted Rex is greeted by Polly on his front porch. The two hold hands as Rex loses consciousness and watches the sun set.

Cast

as Rex *

as Polly *

as Tilly *

as Julie *

as Dr. Nicole Farmer Additionally, Brian Taylor portrays the coach of Tilly's football club. Mercia Deane-Johns appears as Fay, a barmaid, and

Brendan Cowell Brendan Cowell is an Australian actor, playwright, and director. Early life and education Cowell was born in Sydney and grew up in the beachside suburb of Cronulla. He credits his mother and high school drama teacher with encouraging him to ...

plays the publican of the tavern where Rex and Tilly encounter Julie.

Production

The script for the film was adapted as a screenplay by Jeremy Sims and Reg Cribb. Sims' association with Reg Cribb began when his production company, Pork Chop Productions produced a successful stage version. The film was given the go-ahead by

Screen Australia Screen Australia is the Australian Federal Government's key funding body for the Australian screen production industry, created under the ''Screen Australia Act 2008''. From 1 July 2008 Screen Australia took over the functions of its predecess ...

in October 2013 as one of six films to share in $5.4 million government funding. The shooting was scheduled to take place between May and June 2014.

Historical background

The play and film are modeled on the true story of Max Bell, a taxi driver from Broken Hill who made the 3000 kilometre trip from Broken Hill to Darwin in 1996 seeking euthanasia. Like Rex in the film, Bell also drove back to Broken Hill, but Bell did so reluctantly. He had been unable to obtain the signatures required to proceed with euthanasia in Darwin and died slowly in a hospital in Broken Hill, the fate he was trying to avoid. The euthanasia device invented by the fictional Nicole Farmer in the film is based on Australian physician

Philip Nitschke Philip Haig Nitschke (; born 8 August 1947) is an Australian humanist, author, former physician, and founder and director of the pro-euthanasia group EXIT (Australia), Exit International. He campaigned successfully to have a legal euthanasia la ...

's Deliverance Machine, which was used legally in the Northern Territory while the Rights of the Terminally Ill Act was in effect.

Reception

''Last Cab to Darwin'' received positive reviews from critics, earning a 89% approval rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

based on 35 reviews with an average rating of 7.1 out of 10. On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, the film holds a score of 70 based on nine reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Accolades

References

External links

* {{Jeremy Sims 2015 films Australian comedy-drama films Australian road movies 2010s English-language films Films directed by Jeremy Sims