Themes: Custody Battles, Authority Figures, Class Differences
Main Cast: Wendy Hughes, Robyn Nevin, Nicholas Gledhill, John Hargreaves, Geraldine Turner
Release Year: 1983
Country: AU
Run Time: 116 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
Set in Australia in the 1930s, this drama stars Nicholas Gledhill as P.S., a six-year-old boy who lives with his Aunt Lila (Robyn Nevin) and Uncle George (Peter Whitford). P.S.'s mother died in childbirth, so her sister Lila took him in, and while George and Lila don't have a lot of money, they've always done the best they can to give the boy a good home. One day, Lila's other sister Vanessa (Wendy Hughes) arrives after spending several years touring the world; Vanessa is quite wealthy, and upon her return to Australia, she expresses an interest in taking custody of the child. Lila is willing to let Vanessa visit with P.S., and his rich aunt is able to turn his head with limousine rides and lavish gifts. But when Vanessa decides she wants the boy full time, Lila decides to fight her in court. The case is complicated by the arrival of P.S.'s long-absent father, Logan (John Hargreaves), an alcoholic who loves his son but is incapable of caring for him. Careful He Might Hear You won eight Australian Film Institute Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actress (Hughes), and Best Supporting Actor (Hargreaves). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
This little-known Australian movie may be one of the most brutally authentic portraits of childhood ever put on film. It's filmed by director Carl Schultz from the point of view of a six-year-old boy whose father has left and whose mother has died. His mother's two sisters, one wealthy and the other working-class, battle for custody, and eventually his father returns and joins the fray. For a change, full use is made of the acting talents of Geraldine Chaplin, who plays the mother whose love haunts and sustains her child. Never has a movie so lucidly depicted how a child becomes a victim of adults. Set in Depression-era Australia, Careful, He Might Hear You also has a rich sense of social issues as a backdrop for its depressing but riveting story of emotional abuse. Based on a novel by Sumner Locke Elliott, it's a unique and powerful work that was named best picture of the year by the Australian Film Institute. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
Isabelle Anderson - Agnes; Peter Whitford - George Baines; Colleen Clifford - Ettie; Julie Nihill - Diana; Colin Croft - Magician; Michael Long - Mr. Hood; Norman Kaye; Edward Howell - Judge; Jacqueline Kott - Miss Pile; Beth Child - Mrs. Grindel; Pega Williams - Winnie Grindel
Credit
John Wingrove - Art Director, John Carroll - Art Director, Bruce Finlayson - Costume Designer, Carl Schultz - Director, Richard Francis-Bruce - Editor, Ray Cook - Composer (Music Score), John Stoddart - Production Designer, John Seale - Cinematographer, Jill Robb - Producer, Syd Butterworth - Sound Recordist, Michael Jenkins - Screenwriter, Sumner Locke Elliott - Book Author
