''Don't Tell'' is a May 2017

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

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 Tori Garrett and starring Jack Thompson,

Aden Young Aden Young (born 30 November 1971) is a Canadian-Australian actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Daniel Holden in the SundanceTV drama '' Rectify'', for which he was twice nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor ...

and Sara West. It was based on the 2017 novel of the same name by solicitor Stephen Roche. The basis of the film has been paralleled with the film ''

Spotlight Spotlight or spot light may refer to: Lighting * Spot light, an articulating automotive auxiliary lamp * Spotlight (theatre lighting) * Spotlight, a searchlight * Stage lighting instrument, stage lighting instruments, of several types Art, ent ...

'', based on the

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

systematic child sexual abuse by a religious institution. The

Missy Higgins Melissa Morrison "Missy" Higgins (born 19 August 1983) is an Australian singer-songwriter and musician. Her most popular singles include "Scar", " Steer", and " Where I Stood". Her Australian number-one albums are '' The Sound of White'' (2004 ...

song "

Torchlight ''Torchlight'' is an action role-playing hack and slash dungeon crawler video game developed by Runic Games and published by Perfect World Entertainment. It was originally released for Windows in October 2009. The fantasy-themed game is set in ...

" was composed for the film.

Plot synopsis

''Don't Tell'' is based on the true story of Lyndal, a young woman who had been sexually abused at a prestigious private school and, with the help of a determined lawyer, sued the powerful church that denied her abuse for ten years.

Cast

* Jack Thompson as Bob Myers, trial counsel * Sara West as Lyndal, victim *

as Stephen Roche, solicitor *

Rachel Griffiths Rachel Anne Griffiths (born 1968) is an Australian actress. List of awards and nominations received by Rachel Griffiths, Her accolades include a Golden Globe Award, three AACTA Awards, and nominations for an Academy Award and four Primetime Em ...

as Joy Conolly, psychologist *

Jacqueline McKenzie Jacqueline Susan McKenzie (born 24 October 1967) is an Australian film and stage actress. Early life Born in Sydney, New South Wales, McKenzie attended Wenona School in North Sydney, New South Wales, North Sydney until 1983 then moved to Pymb ...

as Jean Dalton, counsellor *

Susie Porter Susie Porter (born 1970 or 1971) is an Australian television, film and theatre actress. She made her debut in the 1996 film '' Idiot Box'', before rising to prominence in films including '' Paradise Road'' (1997), '' Welcome to Woop Woop'' (1997 ...

as Sue, mother of Lyndal *

Gyton Grantley Gyton James Grantley (born 17 July 1980) is an Australian actor and comedian, best known for his portrayal of convicted murderer and drug trafficker Carl Williams in the hit Australian television show '' Underbelly'', for which he was nomina ...

as Kevin Guy, offender *

Robert Coleby Robert Coleby (born 1947) is a British actor who has spent most of his career in Australia. Active since the 1970s, he has over 70 film and television credits to his name. Coleby has acted on stage in numerous productions for the Queensland The ...

as John Bowers *

Martin Sacks Martin Colin Sacks (born 16 October 1959) is an Australian actor who is chiefly known for his 12-year role on '' Blue Heelers'' from 1993 to 2005. Life and career Sacks was born in Sydney. He got into acting after a bit part in an episode of ' ...

as Tony, father of Lyndal * Robert Taylor as Robert Brewster, school council chairman

Background

A school boardermaster of a Toowoomba private school was criminally charged in November 1990 with sexual offences involving children. He committed suicide on the day of a court appearance. In the subsequent 2001 civil court case ''S v Corporation of the Synod of the Diocese of Brisbane'' 001QSC 473, the offending behaviours were accepted by the defendant, and a suicide note not tended, which included the name of the subject victim of this movie. A jury found for the plaintiff. The civil case was considered to be an important step leading to the 2013–2017 Australian

Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was a royal commission announced in November 2012 and established in 2013 by the Australian government pursuant to the Royal Commissions Act 1902 to inquire into and repo ...

. The case also led to the development of the working with children checks government policy across Australia.

Locations

The events centre around the

Toowoomba Preparatory School The Toowoomba Anglican School (formerly Toowoomba Anglican College and Preparatory School) is an independent Anglican co-educational primary and secondary day and boarding school located in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. The school is a memb ...

(now known as the Toowoomba Anglican School) with filming around

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( ), nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar', is a city on the border of South East Queensland and Darling Downs regions of Queensland, Australia. It is located west of Queensland's capital, Brisbane. The urban population of Toowoom ...

. Some shooting occurred around the

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

area, with the historic schoolhouse facade being the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

-listed 1888 'Woodlands' at

Marburg Marburg (; ) is a college town, university town in the States of Germany, German federal state () of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf Districts of Germany, district (). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has ...

. Scenes from

Picnic Point, Toowoomba Picnic Point is a heritage-listed park at 168 Tourist Road, Rangeville, Queensland, Rangeville, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 13 November 2008. History Picnic Point and its adjacent par ...

were also used.

Reception

''Don't Tell'' was met with positive reviews from critics. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, 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 ...

it has an approval rating of 80% based on reviews from 10 critics.

Accolades

References

External links

*
Don't Tell
' on

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