''Annie's Coming Out'' (also known as ''A Test of Love'') is a 1984 Australian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by Gil Brealey. It is based on the 1980 book ''Annie's Coming Out'' which was written by Rosemary Crossley, with the assistance of

Anne McDonald Anne McDonald (11 January 1961 – 22 October 2010) was a nonverbal Australian woman with cerebral palsy and severe intellectual disability who was one of the first subjects of the scientifically discredited facilitated communication (FC) tech ...

. The book tells the story of McDonald's early life in a government institution for people with severe disabilities and her subsequent release, as well as her therapist's attempts to communicate with her through the discredited method of

facilitated communication Facilitated communication (FC), or supported typing, is a scientifically discredited technique which claims to allow non-verbal people, such as those with autism, to communicate. The technique involves a facilitator guiding the disabled person ...

Premise

Annie O'Farrell (based on Anne McDonald) is a 13-year-old girl with athetoid cerebral palsy who is unable to communicate and has been living in a government institution from an early age. Jessica Hathaway (based on Rosemary Crossley) is a therapist who learns to communicate with Annie using an alphabet board and comes to believe that although physically disabled, Annie is not intellectually impaired. When Annie turns 18, Jessica begins a legal fight to get her released.

Cast

* Angela Punch McGregor as Jessica Hathaway *

Drew Forsythe Drew Forsythe (born 23 August 1949) is an Australian actor, singer, writer, and comedian. He has appeared on film, stage, and television, as well as in satirical sketch comedy television programs. Early life Born in New South Wales to newsage ...

as David Lewis * Liddy Clark as Sally Clements * Monica Maughan as Vera Peters * Philippa Baker as Sister Waterman * Tina Arhondis as Annie O'Farrell *

Mark Butler Mark Christopher Butler (born 8 July 1970) is an Australian politician. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has served in the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives since 2007. He was a minister in the ...

as Doctor John Monroe * John Frawley as Harding * Lyn Collingwood as Mrs O'Farrell * Bud Tingwell as Judge * Gia Carides as Narrator

Production

Film rights to the book were bought by Film Australia and Gil Brealey was assigned to direct. It was originally intended that Ann McDonald play herself but she had grown too big by the time she left hospital so 9-year-old Tina Arhondis was cast instead. Shooting started in September 1983 and went for four weeks, mostly at the Convent of the Good Shepherd in Melbourne.

Reception

''Annie's Coming Out'' won three 1984 Australian Film Institute Awards for Best Film, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Lead Actress ( Angela Punch McGregor). It was nominated for four other AFI awards. The film won the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at the 1984 Montréal World Film Festival. The film was not a large commercial success but it screened in the US as ''A Test of Love''.

Home media

''Annie's Coming Out'' was released on DVD by Umbrella Entertainment in October 2010. The DVD is compatible with all region codes and includes special features such as press clippings, photos, and audio commentary with Gil Brealey, Rosemary Crossley, Chris Borthwick and Anne McDonald.

Soundtrack album

The film score recording by Simon Walker, produced by Philip Powers, was released in 2009 by 1M1 Records (1M1CD1026).

References

External links

*
''Annie's Coming Out''
at Oz Movies

at

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 ...

{{Australian Film Institute Award for Best Film 1970–1989 1984 films 1984 drama films 1984 independent films Films shot in Melbourne Films based on biographies Films about people with cerebral palsy 1980s English-language films Australian independent films Films set in Melbourne Facilitated communication Universal Pictures films English-language drama films English-language independent films