''Tim'' is a 1979 Australian romantic drama film written and directed by

Michael Pate Michael Pate OAM (born Edward John Pate; 26 February 1920 – 1 September 2008) was an Australian actor, writer, director, and producer, who also worked in Hollywood in the 1950s and 1960s. Biography Early life Pate was born in Drum ...

and starring Piper Laurie,

Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apocaly ...

Alwyn Kurts Alwyn Cecil Kurts (28 October 1915 – 4 May 2000) was an Australian drama and comedy actor of radio, television and film, best remembered for his role as gruff Inspector Colin Fox in the TV series ''Homicide''. Biography Kurts' father, David D ...

, Pat Evison, and

Deborah Kennedy :''This is an article about the actress. For the American eco artist and author, see Deborah Kennedy (artist)''. Deborah Kennedy is an Australian character actress recognised for several television and film roles, especially for her appearance ...

. It was based on the 1974 novel of the same name by

Colleen McCullough Colleen Margaretta McCullough (; married name Robinson, previously Ion-Robinson; 1 June 193729 January 2015) was an Australian author known for her novels, her most well-known being ''The Thorn Birds'' and ''The Ladies of Missalonghi''. Life ...

Plot

''Tim'' is the story of the developing relationship between an older, educated and wealthy

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

woman, Mary Horton who lives on her own and a handsome, developmentally impaired 24-year-old builder's labourer, Tim Melville, whom she hires. Tim lives with his sister, Dawnie, who is a year older than he is, and their parents Ron and Emily. Dawnie marries her boyfriend, Mick Harrington. Dawnie and Mick make clear they dislike Mary and oppose her relationship with Tim, but do not state their reason for feeling that way. Tim eventually marries Mary.

Production

Michael Pate first read the book in 1975 and was immediately taken by it. He optioned the screen rights to the book, wrote the screenplay, and decided to direct.Peter Beilby & Scott Murray, "Michael Pate", ''Cinema Papers'', May–June 1979 p347-349, 401 Pate wanted the female lead played by an international actor and spoke with

Deborah Kerr Deborah Jane Trimmer CBE (30 September 192116 October 2007), known professionally as Deborah Kerr (), was a British actress. She was nominated six times for the Academy Award for Best Actress. During her international film career, Kerr won a G ...

Jean Simmons Jean Merilyn Simmons, (31 January 1929 – 22 January 2010) was a British actress and singer. One of J. Arthur Rank's "well-spoken young starlets", she appeared predominantly in films, beginning with those made in Great Britain during and afte ...

and Glenda Jackson. Jackson was interested but was not available until 1982 so Piper Laurie was cast instead. Funding came from the

Australian Film Commission The Australian Film Commission (AFC) was an Australian government agency was founded in 1975 with a mandate to promote the creation and distribution of films in Australia as well as to preserve the country's film history. It also had a producti ...

, the NSW Film Corporation,

Greater Union Greater Union Organisation Pty Ltd, trading as Event Cinemas, Greater Union, GU Film House, Moonlight Cinema and Birch Carroll & Coyle (BCC Cinemas), is the largest movie exhibitor in Australia and New Zealand, with over 140 Multiplex (movie the ...

and Channel Nine.

Filming

Filming took six weeks in August and September 1978.

Release

''Tim'' was released in Sydney on 21 September 1979; with the premiere on 13 July 1979 at GUO's Russell Cinemas,

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. In an interview with the Sun-Herald on 20 September 1979, Pate said that the film had run for 12 weeks in Sydney.Oz movies
, Tim (1979) On 1 April 1979, the Australian Classification Board announced that the film would receive a PG certificate rating. The film was originally released in the U.S. on 17 September 1981.

Home media

The film has been available in many markets, with it originally released on VHS and then on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

. When released on home media in 1984, it was given a PG classification. It was first released in Australia on DVD in 2003 by

Magna Pacific Magna Home Entertainment was an independent home entertainment distributor headquartered in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, operating within Australia and New Zealand. As of February 2009, Magna Home Entertainment became a fully owned subsidia ...

with an extra feature of an eighteen-minute interview with the director. A 30th Anniversary Edition DVD was released in the United States in 2009 by Peace Arch Trinity. In May 2011, Germany released it on

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

Disc with little bonus material.

Reception

The film was one of Gibson's first roles, and was moderately successful in Australia, earning Gibson an award at the 21st Australian Film Institute Awards for Best Actor. Kurts and Evison also won Best Supporting Actor and Actress awards respectively.

Box office

''Tim'' grossed $809,000 at the box office in Australia, which is equivalent to $3,163,190 in 2009 dollars.

Critical response

William Thomas of ''

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

'' gave ''Tim'' 4 out of 5 stars, highly praising Gibson’s role stating that "Gibson sensitively portrays Tim without resorting to the usual facial tics associated with this type of role, and, even when a romance begins to develop between the pair, the film rarely slides into cliché."

Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who served as the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' gave it a mixed review saying "''Tim'' is the sort of movie that poses a question not likely to be raised by anyone you know: Can a beautiful, 40-ish woman, who is successful in business and remarkably stable in her emotional life, find happiness with a handsome young man, approximately half her age, who hasn't - as he puts it - a full quid?" He summed up the film with "Considering the patent sillinesses of the material, Miss Laurie and Mr. Gibson do very well, and the supporting performers, especially Mr. Kurts, are fine."

Accolades

Remake

The film was remade for

American television Television is one of the major mass media outlets in the United States. , household ownership of television sets in the country is 96.7%, with approximately 114,200,000 American households owning at least one television set as of August 2013. ...

as ''Mary and Tim'' in 1996, starring Candice Bergen and Tom McCarthy in the lead roles.

References

External links

* *
''Tim''
at Oz Movies {{DEFAULTSORT:Tim (Film) 1979 films Australian romantic drama films Films about intellectual disability Films based on Australian novels 1979 romantic drama films 1979 directorial debut films 1970s English-language films Films about disability