| The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce | |
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| Directed by | Michael James Rowland |
| Produced by | Nial Fulton |
| Written by | Screenplay: Michael James Rowland Nial Fulton |
| Starring | Adrian Dunbar Ciaran McMenamin Dan Wyllie Don Hany Chris Haywood Bob Franklin |
| Music by | Roger Mason |
| Cinematography | Martin McGrath |
| Editing by | Suresh Ayyar |
| Distributed by | Hopscotch Films |
| Release date(s) | January 2009 |
| Running time | 60 Minutes |
| Country | Australia Ireland |
| Language | English Irish |
The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce is a 2008 Australian film directed by Michael James Rowland starring Irish actors Adrian Dunbar as Philip Conolly and Ciaran McMenamin as Alexander Pearce . The film was shot on location in Tasmania and Sydney in April and May 2008.
The film was nominated in the Best Drama category of the 6th Annual Irish Film & Television Awards [1], Best Drama category in the Australian Film Institute Awards 2009, won Best Documentary at the 2009 Inside Film Awards and director Michael James Rowland was nominated in the Best Director (Telemovie) category in the 2009 Australian Directors Guild Awards [2].
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Background
Producer and co-writer Nial Fulton began developing The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce in Ireland in 1998 and production began on the project in Australia in the summer of 2006. The film was inspired by the story of an escape from the Sarah Island penal settlement in Macquarie Harbour, Van Diemen's Land in 1822 by Irish convict Alexander Pearce 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.
Premise and Title
The film follows the final days of Irish convict Alexander Pearce's life as he awaits execution. In 1824 the British penal colony of Van Diemen's Land is little more than a living hell. Chained to a wall in the darkness of a cell under Hobart Gaol, Alexander 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. 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 was executed. The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce is presented as a psychoanalytical historical epic.
The film details the convicts relinquishing psyche as he finds himself succumbing to the inevitably of his imminent execution. For much of the film, the complex relationship between the Pearce and Conolly is examined. The circumstances and motives of Pearces' execution are, too, put into question by Rowland.
Production
Script
Written by Michael James Rowland and Nial Fulton, the script draws on all four confessions made by Alexander Pearce, but principally on the confessions he made to Commandant John Cuthbertson and the final confession made to the priest Phillip Conolly. In many places the script uses the exact words written down in these confessions.
Principal cast
- Adrian Dunbar as Phillip Conolly
- Ciaran McMenamin as Alexander Pearce
- Dan Wyllie as Robert Greenhill
- Don Hany as John Mather
- Bob Franklin as Matthew Travers
- Chris Haywood as Reverend Robert Knopwood.
Van Diemen's Land / Tasmania
Shot over five weeks on location in Tasmania and Sydney the director and producer wanted to put both cast and crew into the actual environment where the real events occurred. The film was shot on location around Lake St Clair, Nelsons Falls, Tahune, Mount Wellington and Sydney. The producers also wanted to use as many local Tasmanian cast and crew as possible, adding to the authenticity of the piece.
Almost all the extras in the film are from Tasmania and the actors Peter Dowling (Bodenham), Matthew Preston (Kennerly), Tony Goodfellow (Dalton), Carl Rush (Loggins), and Jack Ayeward (Cox) all live in Tasmania.
Critical response and reviews
The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce received positive reviews internationally from film critics. Empire Magazine, The Sunday Times and the Sydney Morning Herald all gave the film four 4/5 stars.
“An unmitigated triumph. The performances, McMenamin as Pearce, Dunbar as the man who hears his confession and a supporting cast including Don Hany, Dan Wyllie and Chris Haywood are flawless.“ The Age
“If there are those who need to know what television can be at its best, let them look no further than this for the answer. Nothing short of a watershed moment in TV for 2009. This has raised the bar.” West Australian
“A stellar cast. A compelling and disturbing drama.” Sunday Times
Awards
- Irish Film and Television Awards
- Nominated - Best Drama 2009 - Nial Fulton
- AFI Awards
- Nominated - Best Drama 2009 - Nial Fulton
- Australian Directors Guild
- Nominated - Best Director 2009 - Michael James Rowland
- Inside Film Awards
- Winner - Best Documentary 2009 - Nial Fulton and Michael James Rowland
- APRA Awards
- Winner - Best Music for a Telemovie 2009 - Roger Mason
References
See also
External links
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