Blackrock is a 1997 Australian teen drama thriller film produced by David Elfick and Catherine Knapman, directed by Steven Vidler with the screenplay by Nick Enright. Marking Vidler's directorial debut, the film was adapted from the play of the same name, also written by Enright, which was inspired by the murder of Leigh Leigh. The film stars Laurence Breuls, Simon Lyndon and Linda Cropper, and also features the first credited film performance of Heath Ledger. The film follows Jared (Breuls), a young surfer who witnesses his friends raping a girl. When she is found murdered the next day, Jared is torn between revealing what he saw and protecting his friends.
Leigh's family opposed the fictionalisation of her murder, though protests against the film were abandoned after it received financial backing from the New South Wales Film and Television Office. Blackrock was filmed over a period of two weeks at locations including Stockton, where Leigh was murdered, a decision that was opposed by local residents who said that memories of the murder were still fresh. While the film was never marketed as being based on a true story, numerous comparisons between the murder and the film were made, and many viewers believed it to be a factual account of the murder.
The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and was also shown at the Boston Film Festival, though it failed to find an American theatrical distributor. It was nominated for five AACTA Awards, including Best Film, and won the Feature Film – Adaptation award as well as the Major Award at the 1997 AWGIE Awards. It received generally positive reviews in Australia, where it grossed $1.1 million at the box office. Outside Australia, where audiences were less familiar with Leigh's murder, critical reception of the film was mixed.
Plot Blackrock is an Australian beachside working-class suburb in which surfing is popular among youths like Jared. His first serious girlfriend is Rachel, who comes from a much wealthier part of the city. One day, Ricko, a surfer popular among the local youths, returns from an eleven-month trip. Jared's mother, attempts to tell Jared that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer, but Jared insists on talking to her later as he is busy arranging a "welcome home" party for Ricko at the local surf club. Rachel's father, a photographer who takes provocative images of women, forbids her from attending the party but allows her older brother, Toby, to attend.
While driving to the party, Toby sees Tracy, Cherie and two other girls and gives them a ride. Jared flirts with Tracy at the party and then gets into a fight with Toby. Ricko comes to Jared's defence, but Jared breaks up the fight after Ricko hits Toby several times. Tracy comes to comfort Toby, and Jared leaves the party to head to the beach alone. Jared sees Toby having consensual sex with Tracy on the beach. He then witnesses three of his male friends interrupting the couple and raping Tracy. Tracy calls out for help, but Jared, who is visibly disturbed by what he is witnessing, does not intervene. Toby and the other three boys, who never noticed Jared was watching, flee the area. Jared also runs away and leaves Tracy alone and distressed. Later that night Rachel, who has sneaked out of home to attend the party, finds Tracy's beaten corpse on the beach.
Jared initially tells the police nothing of what he saw. He is torn between the need to tell the truth and the desire to protect his friends. His anger leads to the breakdown of his relationships with both Rachel and Diane. Despite Jared's silence, police arrest Toby and the three other boys within a few days. Jared decides to tell the police what he saw, as he believes Toby and the other boys will be charged with Tracy's murder. However, on his way into the police station he is confronted by Ricko, who confesses to Jared that he killed Tracy, but claims it was an accident. She hit her head on a rock when he attempted to have sex with her. He has already told police that he was with Jared all night and asks Jared to confirm his alibi in the name of mateship. Diane, who still has not been able to tell Jared that she has cancer because of his behaviour, goes in to have surgery.
Jared tells the police that he was with Ricko. When he tries to suggest Tracy's death may have been an accident, the police show him the photos of Tracy's battered body. Jared aggressively confronts Ricko at the beach, and Ricko confesses that Tracy's death was not an accident. He had found her walking on the beach after the rape, and she asked him to take her home. He agreed but wanted to have sex with her first. She tried to fight him off and bit him in the process, which enraged him enough to beat her to death.
As Ricko finishes his confession, the police arrive, and he realises that Jared has turned him in. He attempts to escape, but the police give chase and corner him on a cliff. Rather than go to jail and ignoring Jared's screams of protest, he jumps to his death. In the weeks that follow, Jared's life collapses. Despite learning of Diane's illness, he moves out of her house and chooses instead to be homeless. Jared returns home one day to collect his belongings; after arguing with Diane, he confesses that he witnessed Tracy's rape and could have saved her life if he had intervened or helped her afterwards. Later that day, Jared joins Diane and Cherie in cleaning graffiti from Tracy's grave.
Cast
Laurence Breuls as Jared Kirby Simon Lyndon as Brett 'Ricko' Ricketson Linda Cropper as Diane Kirby Chris Haywood as Detective Sergeant Wilansky Rebecca Smart as Cherie Milenko Jeanette Cronin as Lesley Warner David Field as Ken Warner Justine Clarke as Tiffany Essie Davis as Detective Gilhooley Jessica Napier as Rachel Ackland Bojana Novakovic as Tracy Warner Shayne Francis as Glenys Milenko John Howard as Len Kirby Geoff Morrell as Stewart Ackland Cameron Nugent as Jason Brendan Donoghue as Dave Jade Gatt as Scottie George Basha as Kemel Heath Ledger as Toby Ackland Leeanna Walsman as Shana Kate Sheil as Doctor Harold Hopkins as Principal
Themes Writing in the journal Antipodes, academics Felicity Holland and Jane O'Sullivan credit the film with exploring the themes of Australian masculinity, mateship, violence and sexuality. The film's portrayal of a rape and murder at a teenage party suggests that serious crime can arise from drinking and fun simply getting out of hand. The violence, they say, erupts from extreme larikkinism rather than the archetypal psychopathy seen in other films featuring violence towards women. The film's critique of criminal masculinity undermines the status of previously celebrated masculine lawbreakers in Australian history and cinema, such as Ned Kelly and Mick Dundee. The authors believe that the focus on masculinity leaves the female victim largely out of the film; they consider the "near erasure" of Tracy to be a troubling aspect; the film instead focuses on portraying the males as victims of their class, masculinity and mateship.
Director Steven Vidler said the film was not about a rape, rather it was "about the culture that allowed it to happen." Vidler defended the choice to give the rape victim a minor role, stating, "It was important to show that this could have happened to anyone. We didn't want to give away too much about the victim so we could maintain that suspense." Producer David Elfick said that the film was about contemporary Australia; about "kids who have all their life to enjoy, then a deadly mixture of drugs, alcohol, sexual tension, and desire add up to a tragedy."
Production
Theatrical origins
Brian Joyce, the director of Newcastle's Freewheels Theatre in Education, approached playwright Nick Enright, encouraging him to create a play that explored themes around the 1989 rape and murder of Leigh Leigh in Stockton, a beach area of Newcastle. Leigh's family objected to the fictionalisation of her murder. Titled A Property of the Clan, the 45-minute play premiered at the Freewheels Theatre in 1992 and was performed at the National Institute of Dramatic Art in 1993. The play was shown at various high-schools in the Newcastle area and, following its positive reception, was shown nationally at high schools across the country over a period of eighteen months.
In 1994, the Sydney Theatre Company commissioned Enright to develop the play into a feature-length production. The resulting play was titled Blackrock. Blackrock retained the original four characters from A Property of the Clan, and added nine others; it was considered a more fictionalised version of Leigh's murder. The narrative and emphasis were reshaped for an adult audience rather than for a specifically educational environment.
Film adaptation While the revisions to the play Blackrock were still being finalised, Enright started working with first-time director Steven Vidler to direct a film version, which would also be titled Blackrock. By December 1995, Vidler was working with Enright as an unofficial script editor, although they were having trouble finding financing for the film. Vidler said he considered directing the film Blackrock after having watched and been moved by the theatrical version, saying the play was "absolutely what it was like [for him] growing up in the Western Suburbs... It's about keeping bonded with your mates. Nothing else matters... It's about the unbelievable lengths boys will go to keep those bonds solid." Leigh's mother Robyn campaigned to have production of the film halted, but her attempts failed after the film received government financial backing from the New South Wales Film and Television Office.
Blackrock was filmed over a period of two weeks with a cast and crew of about 70. A call for extras received an enthusiastic response by many teenagers in the Newcastle area. Filming locations included Stockton, Maroubra Beach, Caves Beach, and NESCA House. Notable Stockton landmarks seen in the film include the Stockton Ferry and Stockton Bridge.