''The Well'' is a 1997 Australian film directed by

Samantha Lang Samantha Lang is an Australian film director and screenwriter. Her production company is Handmaid Media. Early life and education Samantha Lang was born in London, England, migrating to Australia with her family at the age of 14. She attend ...

and starring

Pamela Rabe Pamela may refer to: *''Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded'', a novel written by Samuel Richardson in 1740 *Pamela (name), a given name and, rarely, a surname *Pamela Spence, a Turkish pop-rock singer. Known as her stage name "Pamela" * MSC ''Pamela'', ...

Miranda Otto Miranda Otto (born 16 December 1967) is an Australian actress. She is the daughter of actors Barry and Lindsay Otto and the paternal half-sister of actress Gracie Otto. Otto began her acting career in 1986 at age 18 and appeared in a variety of ...

Paul Chubb Paul Dunford (14 January 1949 – 9 June 2002), professionally billed as Paul Chubb, was an Australian film, television and stage actor and scriptwriter primarily in genres of comedy and drama. Early life He was born in Arncliffe, a suburb of S ...

, and Frank Wilson. It is based on the 1986 novel of the same name by

Elizabeth Jolley Monica Elizabeth Jolley AO (4 June 1923 – 13 February 2007) was an English-born Australian writer who settled in Western Australia in the late 1950s and forged an illustrious literary career there. She was 53 when her first book was publishe ...

Synopsis

A young girl named Katherine and her older friend Hester live on an isolated farm run by Hester and her father Francis. Katherine works as a maid and wants to leave because there's too much work. Hester, however, becomes attracted to Katherine and holds her there, promising to give her less work in the future. When Francis dies, Hester decides to sell the farm for cash. They move to small cottage on the edge of the farm and plan to go to Europe. But a tragic accident and the theft of their money change their plans.

Cast

as Hester *

as Katherine *

as Harry Bird * Frank Wilson as Francis Harper * Steve Jacobs as Rod Bordern *

Geneviève Lemon Genevieve Lemon (born 21 April 1958) is an Australian actress and singer who has appeared in a number of Australian television series and international film, including a frequent collaboration with Jane Campion for Academy Award-winning ''The P ...

as Jen Bordern *

Simon Lyndon Simon Lyndon (born 18 February 1971 in London) is an English-born Australian actor and director who grew up in Fremantle, Western Australia. He is a WAAPA graduate. Career Film roles Lyndon played Jimmy Loughlin in '' Chopper'' with Eric Ba ...

as Abel * Kati Edwards as Molly *

Luke Harrison People * Luke (given name), a masculine given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Luke (surname) (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Luke the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of Luke. Also known a ...

as Bordern Child * Daniel Harrison as Bordern Child *

Jennifer Kent Jennifer Kent (born 5 March 1969) is an Australian actress, writer and director, best known for her directorial debut, the horror film ''The Babadook'' (2014). Her second film, '' The Nightingale'' (2018), premiered at the 75th Venice Internati ...

as Marg Trinder * Stephen Rae as Murray Trinder * Cameron Shanahan as Bordern Child * Miles Shanahan as Bordern Child * Paul Caesar as Jock * Annalise Lise as Lover * Jamie McLeod as Hitchhiker

Production

Sandra Levy Sandra Elizabeth Levy (born 3 December 1965 in Kingston, Jamaica) is a former field hockey player, who represented Canada at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea and the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. The Toronto, Ontario nativ ...

bought the rights to the novel and hired Laura Jones to adapt. They worked on the project for around six years, and then

became involved as director.

Awards

* In 1997 it won three AFI Awards presented by the Australian Film Institute: Best Achievement in Production Design - Michael Philips, Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role - Pamela Rabe and Best Screenplay Adapted from Another Source - Laura Jones. * In 1997 it was nominated for eight AFI awards: Best Achievement in Cinematography - Mandy Walker, Best Achievement in Costume Design - Anna Borghesi, Best Achievement in Direction - Samantha Lang, Best Achievement in Editing - Dany Cooper, Best Achievement in Sound - Anne Breslin, Gethin Creagh, Bronwyn Murphy,

Best Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

- Sandra Levy, Best Original Music Score - Stephen Rae, Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role - Miranda Otto. * In 1997 it was nominated for the

Golden Palm The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

award at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

* In 1997 Pamela Rabe received best actress at the

Stockholm Film Festival The Stockholm International Film Festival ( sv, Stockholms filmfestival, italic=no) is an annual film festival held in Stockholm, Sweden. It was launched in 1990 and has been held every year since then during the second half of November. The w ...

. * In 1998 it won the FCCA award presented by the Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards: Best Screenplay - Adapted - Laura Jones * In 1998 it was nominated for three FCCA awards: Best Actor (Female) - Miranda Otto, Best Actor (Female) - Pamela Rabe and Best Cinematography - Mandy Walker

Box office

''The Well'' grossed $393,920 at the box office in Australia.''Film Victoria - Australian Films at the Australian Box Office''

References

External links

*
''The Well''
at Oz Movies
The Well at the National Film and Sound Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Well Australian drama films 1997 films 1997 drama films Films directed by Samantha Lang Films based on Australian novels Films based on British novels 1990s English-language films