''The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce'' is a 2008 Australian-Irish film directed by
Michael James Rowland starring Irish actors
Adrian Dunbar as Philip Conolly and
Ciarán McMenamin
Ciarán McMenamin (born 1 October 1975) is a Northern Irish actor and author.
Early life
McMenamin was born in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, where he attended St Michael's College. He earned his B.A. from the Royal Scottis ...
as
bushranger
Bushrangers were originally escaped convicts in the early years of the British settlement of Australia who used the bush as a refuge to hide from the authorities. By the 1820s, the term had evolved to refer to those who took up " robbery unde ...
Alexander Pearce
Alexander Pearce (1790 – 19 July 1824) was an Irish convict who was transported to the penal colony in Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania), Australia for seven years for theft. He escaped from prison several times, allegedly becoming a cannibal ...
and an ensemble Australian cast, including
Dan Wyllie,
Don Hany
Don Hany (born 18 September 1975) is an Australian actor. He is best known for his role in the series ''White Collar Blue'', Dr. Chris Havel in ''Offspring'', and the leading role of Zane Malik in the SBS series '' East West 101''. He is also ...
and
Chris Haywood
Chris Haywood (born ) is an English-born Australian actor, writer and producer, with close to 500 screen performances to his name. Haywood has also worked as a casting director, art director, sound recordist, camera operator, gaffer, grip, l ...
. The film was shot on location in
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
and
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...
between April and May 2008.
The film was nominated for the 2010
Rose d'Or
The Rose d'Or ('Golden Rose') is an international awards festival in entertainment broadcasting and programming. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) first acquired the Rose d’Or in 1961, when it was created by Swiss Television in the lakes ...
, Best Drama at the 6th Annual
Irish Film and Television Awards
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
, Best Drama at the 2009
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 responsi ...
Awards, won Best Documentary at the 2009
Inside Film Awards and the director Michael James Rowland was nominated in the Best Director (Telemovie) category in the 2009 Australian Directors Guild Awards.
Premise and title
The film follows the final days of Irish convict and
bushranger
Bushrangers were originally escaped convicts in the early years of the British settlement of Australia who used the bush as a refuge to hide from the authorities. By the 1820s, the term had evolved to refer to those who took up " robbery unde ...
Alexander Pearce
Alexander Pearce (1790 – 19 July 1824) was an Irish convict who was transported to the penal colony in Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania), Australia for seven years for theft. He escaped from prison several times, allegedly becoming a cannibal ...
's life as he awaits execution. In 1824 the British
penal colony
A penal colony or exile colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general population by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory. Although the term can be used to refer to ...
of
Van Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sep ...
is little more than a living hell. Chained to a wall in the darkness of a cell under
Hobart Gaol, Pearce is visited by Father Philip Conolly, the parish priest of the fledgling colony and a fellow Irishman. Pearce wishes to tell the priest his recollection of the horrors he endured in the three months spent traversing the brutal wilderness of
Van Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sep ...
. Conolly struggles to reconcile his desire to grant absolution to the convict with the story Pearce tells him. The title of the film comes from the remarkable interaction between Philip Conolly and Alexander Pearce days before Pearce is executed. ''The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce'' is presented as a psychoanalytical
historical epic
Epic films are a style of filmmaking with large-scale, sweeping scope, and spectacle. The usage of the term has shifted over time, sometimes designating a film genre and at other times simply synonymous with big-budget filmmaking. Like epics in ...
.
The relatively underscored aspect of Pearce's crime and confessions is the murder of fellow escapees and the alleged
cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, b ...
.
The film details the convict's relinquishing psyche as he finds himself succumbing to the inevitability of his imminent execution. For much of the film, the complex relationship between Pearce and Conolly is examined. The circumstances and motives of Pearce's execution are, too, put into question by Rowland.
Production
Producer and co-writer
Nial Fulton began developing ''The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce'' in
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
in 1998 and
production began on the project in Australia in the summer of 2006. The film was commissioned and financed by the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-owne ...
,
RTÉ
(RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, whil ...
,
BBC Northern Ireland
BBC Northern Ireland ( ga, BBC Thuaisceart Éireann; Ulster-Scots: ''BBC Norlin Airlan'') is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Northern Ireland. It is widely available across both Northern Ireland and the Republic of I ...
,
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 ...
and Screen Tasmania.
''The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce'' was inspired by the true story of an escape from the infamous
Sarah Island penal settlement in
Macquarie Harbour, Van Diemen's Land in 1822 by Irish convict and bushranger
Alexander Pearce
Alexander Pearce (1790 – 19 July 1824) was an Irish convict who was transported to the penal colony in Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania), Australia for seven years for theft. He escaped from prison several times, allegedly becoming a cannibal ...
and the subsequent confession he made to the Hobart priest Phillip Conolly days before he was executed for the murder of fellow convict Thomas Cox.
Script
Written by Michael James Rowland and
Nial Fulton, the script draws on all four confessions made by
Alexander Pearce
Alexander Pearce (1790 – 19 July 1824) was an Irish convict who was transported to the penal colony in Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania), Australia for seven years for theft. He escaped from prison several times, allegedly becoming a cannibal ...
, but principally on the confessions he made to Commandant John Cuthbertson and the final confession made to the
priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...
Phillip Conolly. In many places the script uses the exact words written down in these confessions.
Principal cast
*
Adrian Dunbar as Philip Connolly
*
Ciarán McMenamin
Ciarán McMenamin (born 1 October 1975) is a Northern Irish actor and author.
Early life
McMenamin was born in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, where he attended St Michael's College. He earned his B.A. from the Royal Scottis ...
as
Alexander Pearce
Alexander Pearce (1790 – 19 July 1824) was an Irish convict who was transported to the penal colony in Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania), Australia for seven years for theft. He escaped from prison several times, allegedly becoming a cannibal ...
*
Dan Wyllie as Robert Greenhill
*
Don Hany
Don Hany (born 18 September 1975) is an Australian actor. He is best known for his role in the series ''White Collar Blue'', Dr. Chris Havel in ''Offspring'', and the leading role of Zane Malik in the SBS series '' East West 101''. He is also ...
as John Mather
*
Bob Franklin as Matthew Travers
*
Chris Haywood
Chris Haywood (born ) is an English-born Australian actor, writer and producer, with close to 500 screen performances to his name. Haywood has also worked as a casting director, art director, sound recordist, camera operator, gaffer, grip, l ...
as Reverend
Robert Knopwood
Robert Knopwood (2 June 1763 – 18 September 1838)
was an early clergyman and diarist in Australia.
Knopwood was the third child and only surviving son of Robert Knopwood (from a wealthy Norfolk family) and his wife Elizabeth, ''née'' Bart ...
Van Diemen's Land / Tasmania
Shot over five weeks on location in Tasmania and Sydney in 2008, the film used locations around
Derwent Bridge,
Lake St Clair
Lake St. Clair (french: Lac Sainte-Claire) is a freshwater lake that lies between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Michigan. It was named in 1679 by French Catholic explorers after Saint Clare of Assisi, on whose feast day ...
,
Nelson Falls
The Nelson Falls, a cascade waterfall, is located in the UNESCO World Heritagelisted Tasmanian Wilderness, in the West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia.
Location and features
The Nelson Falls are situated in the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rive ...
,
the Huon Valley,
Mount Wellington and
Callan Park
Callan Park, with the heritage listed name Callan Park Conservation Area & Buildings, is a heritage listed site in Lilyfield, a suburb in the Inner West Council in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia.
Cal ...
, a former asylum in
Rozelle
Rozelle is a suburb in the inner west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 4 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Inner West Council.
Location
Rozelle s ...
. Many of the filming locations were selected as they were places Alexander Pearce may have passed through on his escape from Sarah Island.
Critical response and reviews
''The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce'' received positive reviews internationally from film critics.
*''
The Age
''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
''
*''
The Australian
''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...
''
*''
Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...
''
*''
Jackson Free Press
The ''Jackson Free Press'', referred to often as simply "JFP", is a for-profit community magazine available free of charge at various retail establishments in Jackson, Mississippi founded in 2002 and owned by Mississippi native Donna Ladd and au ...
''
*''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
''
*
Filmink
*
BBC
*''Inside Film Magazine''
*''
Belfast Telegraph
The ''Belfast Telegraph'' is a daily newspaper published in Belfast, Northern Ireland, by Independent News & Media. Its editor is Eoin Brannigan. Reflecting its unionist tradition, the paper has historically been "favoured by the Protestant po ...
''
*''
Sunday Mirror
The ''Sunday Mirror'' is the Sunday sister paper of the ''Daily Mirror''. It began life in 1915 as the ''Sunday Pictorial'' and was renamed the ''Sunday Mirror'' in 1963. In 2016 it had an average weekly circulation of 620,861, dropping marke ...
''
*''Tasmanian Examiner''
*''
The Northern Star
''The Northern Star'' is a daily newspaper serving Lismore, New South Wales, Australia. The newspaper is owned by News Corp Australia.
''The Northern Star'' is circulated to Lismore and surrounding communities, from Tweed Heads to the nort ...
''
''
Empire Magazine
''Empire'' is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. The first issue was published in May 1989.
History
David Hepworth of Emap, the publisher of British music magazines '' Q'' and '' Smash Hits'', among other titl ...
'', ''
The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
'' and ''
The Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...
'' all gave the film 4/5 stars.
Awards
Key awards and nominations
See also
*
Cinema of Australia
The cinema of Australia had its beginnings with the 1906 production of '' The Story of the Kelly Gang'', arguably the world's first feature film. Since then, Australian crews have produced many films, a number of which have received internat ...
*
Macquarie Harbour Penal Station
The Macquarie Harbour Penal Station, a former British colonial penal settlement, established on Sarah Island, Macquarie Harbour, in the former colony of Van Diemen's Land, now Tasmania, operated between 1822 and 1833. The settlement housed ...
* ''
Van Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sep ...
''
*
Tasmanian Gothic
*
Alexander Pearce
Alexander Pearce (1790 – 19 July 1824) was an Irish convict who was transported to the penal colony in Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania), Australia for seven years for theft. He escaped from prison several times, allegedly becoming a cannibal ...
*
County Monaghan
County Monaghan ( ; ga, Contae Mhuineacháin) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is part of Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Monaghan. Monaghan County C ...
References
External links
*
*
Screen TasmaniaHopscotch FilmsHorrorphile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Last Confession of Alexander Pearce, The
2008 films
2000s historical films
APRA Award winners
Australian historical films
Films about cannibalism
Convictism in Australia
Films set in colonial Australia
Films set in Tasmania
Films set in 1824
History of Tasmania
Incidents of cannibalism
Films scored by Roger Mason (musician)
2000s English-language films