The story is settled in 1825 Van Diemen's Land, on the eve of the upcoming “Black War”. Irish convict Clare Carroll works as a servant for a British Colonial Forces detachment commanded by Lieutenant Hawkins. The unit is being visited by an inspecting officer to see if Hawkins is fit for promotion to captain. That evening, the unit feasts. Clare, nicknamed "Nightingale", sings and serves drink for the rowdy group of men. After work, Clare visits Hawkins to make an inquiry. Before she can make her query, he forces her to sing a special song for him. She does so reluctantly. Afterward, Hawkins makes undue advances on her. Clare dodges them, then asks about the overdue letter of recommendation that would allow her family—husband Aidan and their infant daughter—freedom. Hawkins, enraged by her request, proceeds to assault and rape her. Later that night, Aidan suspects that Clare has been hurt but promises to remain calm when he confronts Hawkins the following morning about the letter; however, he fails to sway him. That night, a drunken Aidan engages in a brawl with Hawkins, his boorish second-in-command Sergeant Ruse, and the naive Ensign Jago. The visiting officer witnesses the entire incident and determines that this, along with other acts of poor conduct displayed by Hawkins and his soldiers, make him unfit for promotion. Incensed, Hawkins commands Ruse and Jago to gather supplies for an impromptu journey through treacherous bush to the town of Launceston in hopes of securing his promotion. Before departing, the soldiers intercept the Carroll family, who are attempting to flee. Hawkins taunts Aidan about the “numerous” times he's had sex with Clare. Then he and Ruse gang-rape Clare, Hawkins kills Aidan, and Jago unintentionally kills their baby then knocks - at Hawkins' command - Clare unconscious. After Clare reports the incident to a dubious RMP official the following morning, she decides to seek revenge herself, with the help of an Aboriginal tracker named Billy. Clare presents the mission to Billy as her desire to rendezvous with her soldier husband on his journey. At first, Clare is domineering toward Billy, but their mutual hostility dissipates and they gradually bond as they learn about each other's tragic upbringings and their shared hatred of the British. Billy tells Clare that his actual name is Mangana, Palawa kani for “blackbird”, and that he wishes to go up north to reunite with the still-living female members of his people. Meanwhile, the officers recruit three convicts and Aboriginal Charlie for their journey. Hawkins takes a liking to one of the convicts, a child named Eddie, and Ruse kidnaps a woman named Lowanna to be used as a sex slave. Aboriginal men kill one of the convicts and injure Jago in an unsuccessful rescue mission. Facing the men, Hawkins holds Lowanna hostage, then kills her in cold blood distracting the men. He, Ruse, and the convicts flee, leaving Jago behind. Later, when Clare and Mangana stumble upon Jago, whom Mangana assumes is her husband, Clare corners Jago and repeatedly stabs and beats him to death. Mangana considers abandoning a now-desperate Clare, but after he learns the true story behind her desire to get revenge on the soldiers, he decides to stay. Charlie, as revenge for the soldiers' inhumanity, diverts the journey to a dead end on the summit of a mountain. Ruse kills him, but Hawkins chastises Ruse for the rash decision and forces him to be their guide on the way back down the mountain. After Clare and Mangana find Charlie's body, Mangana performs burial rites and informs Clare that now he, too, seeks vengeance. The two finally approach the group of four men, but Clare freezes when she sees Hawkins, allowing him to graze her with a musket shot, forcing Clare and Mangana to split up. Mangana is found and forced to be the new guide. He brings the soldiers back to the main path to Launceston, and Hawkins orders Eddie to kill Mangana, but Eddie hesitates, allowing Mangana to escape. Hawkins tries to abandon Eddie, but when Eddie begs for a second chance, Hawkins shoots and kills him. Clare also finds her way back onto the main path and reunites with Mangana. While on their way, they encounter a chain gang of Aboriginal men, one of whom informs Mangana that he is now the last of his people. When the prisoner yells at his captors about their callousness, they shoot him and the others dead. In Launceston, Clare valiantly confronts a newly promoted Hawkins about his war crimes in the presence of several British officers while Mangana watches in hiding. The two then flee town for the night, but Mangana dons war paint, enters the hostel where Hawkins and Ruse are lodged, and kills them both, but not before Ruse horribly wounds Mangana. Clare and Mangana flee the commotion and arrive at a beach where Mangana dances and declares himself a free man, while Clare sings a panegyric Gaelic folk song as the two watch the sun rise.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, director Jennifer Kent was "deluged" with film scripts from the United States after the success of her debut film The Babadook, but decided to focus on writing and directing The Nightingale. IndieWire reported that shooting for The Nightingale began on location in Tasmania in March 2017.
Release
The Nightingale was released in the United States on 2 August 2019 by IFC Films, and in Australia on 29 August by Transmission Films. The film was selected to be screened in the main competition section of the 75th Venice International Film Festival, and had its Australian premiere at the 2018 Adelaide Film Festival. IFC Films announced on Twitter they bought the rights to distribute the film in the US and have set a release for Summer 2019, following its festival run.
Reception
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, The Nightingale holds an approval rating of 86%, based on 227 reviews, and an average rating of 7.51/10. Its consensus reads "The Nightingale definitely isn't for all tastes, but writer-director Jennifer Kent taps into a rich vein of palpable rage to tell a war story that leaves a bruising impact." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 77 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Controversy
The Nightingale received heavy criticism following its initial screenings at the Sydney Film Festival, where approximately 30 film-goers walked out of the theater in disgust due to its extreme depictions of rape and murder. One viewer was heard shouting "I'm not watching this; she's already been raped twice" as she exited the theater. Kent defended the decision to show such violence, saying that the film contains historically accurate depictions of the violence and racism that colonial power inflicted on the indigenous Australian people of that time. The film was produced in collaboration with Tasmanian Aboriginal elders who asserted that this is an honest and necessary depiction of their history and a story that needs to be told. Kent said she understands the negative reactions, but stated that she remains enormously proud of the film and stressed to audiences that this film is about a need for love, compassion and kindness in dark times.
