Nick Enright Movies
An Oscar-nominated Australian screenwriter whose affecting screenplay (alongside George Miller) for 1992's Lorenzo's Oil established him as a talented screen scribe, playwright Nick Enright was one of his native country's most celebrated dramatists. Born in Mainland, New South Whales, Australia, in December of 1950, Enright began his 36-year career by slipping into a dress at age 13 for a career-defining performance in a stage production of Macbeth. Spending a year as a general assistant at the Nimrod Street Theater after graduating from college, formal training was soon to follow at the New York University school of the arts. Writing and acting in numerous stage productions in the following years, Enright eventually worked with every leading theater company in his native Australia before embarking on a career as an educator at the National Institute of Dramatic Arts, West Australian Academy of Performing Art, and the Australian Theater for Young People. During his extended tenure as a teacher Enright schooled some of the biggest theatrical talents in the country. A prolific writer since 1978, Enright adapted his work to nearly every medium conceivable, including stage, film, television, and radio. His most popular stageworks, including the youth drama Blackrock (adapted to film in 1997) and his adaptation of the Tim Winton novel Cloudstreet, continued to earn Enright accolades moving into the new millennium. Following a year-long battle with cancer, Nick Enright died in Sydney in March 30, 2003. He was 52. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
The Australian coastal community of Blackrock goes into an uproar after the badly beaten, gang-raped corpse of a 15-year-old girl is discovered after an all-night beach party goes out of control. As the moral outrage heats up, the sole witness to the crime, 17-year-old surfer Jared Kirby (who organized the shindig to celebrate the return of surfing guru Ricko) is left with the wrenching decision whether or not to rat on his friends. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Susan Sarandon and Nick Nolte give brilliant performances as parents trying to save the life of their son in George Miller's harrowing and heartbreaking Lorenzo's Oil. Based on a true story, the film begins as bright young Lorenzo (Zack O'Malley Greenburg) is leading a pleasant life on the Comoro Islands. But things start to go wrong with him -- he collapses, he raves, and he loses his hearing -- so his concerned parents, Augusto (Nick Nolte) and Michaela Odone (Susan Sarandon), take him to a doctor. The diagnosis is a death warrant; they are told that Lorenzo has been diagnosed with adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), an rare and incurable nerve disease that is always fatal. When Augusto and Michaela are told to be patient as they watch their son sink further into the debilitating illness, they take matters into their own hands and start their own investigation of the disease. Using rapeseed oil, they find their own treatment for ALD. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nick Nolte, Susan Sarandon, (more)
- 1989
Based on a novel by David Morrell, the made-for-TV Brotherhood of the Rose is unabashedly old-fashioned escapist espionage fare. Peter Strauss and David Morse play polar-opposite CIA agents, code names Romulus and Remus. Their superior-and father figure-is crusty CIA official Robert Mitchum. Though Romulus and Remus are devoted to Mitchum, he is only concerned with the greater good of the service-a philosophy that has become despotic over the years. Now Mitchum has determined that Romulus is expendable. Escaping from CIA assassins, Romulus and Remus stumble into a vast rule-the-world conspiracy called The Brotherhood of the Rose. Filmed in New Zealand, this was originally a long miniseries broadcast in two parts, on January 22 and 23, 1989 - and then edited down to feature length. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
In this slightly downbeat film about the history of working women in Australia, the tone is somber although each well-won step forward is highlighted. Clips from newsreels and feature films (not identified) are enhanced by narration, and even the underprivileged aboriginal women are considered - along with many other topics. Divided into four parts, the first segment examines the influx of female prisoners into Australia at the end of the 18th century and their demonstrations in the prisons against deplorable conditions. The story of women's rights continues up to 1914, including the fight for the right to vote. The second part covers the role of women in World War I and before World War II. The third segment continues through the second World War with the role of women in a diminished work force and considers the issue of equal pay for equal work in the years up to 1969. The last segment traces the feminist movement up to contemporary times (early 1980s). ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Clifton, Diana Craig, (more)
- 1980
Breaking Up is one of the earliest directorial endeavors of screenwriter Kathy Mueller. The title refers to the state of things in a long-term marriage. The parents of two teen-aged boys (Nick Enright and Matthew Stevenson) announce that they're getting a divorce. Unwilling to be torn between the affections of their parents, the boys depend on each other for comfort and support. Filmed for Australian television, Breaking Up should not be confused with the like-vintage American TV movie of the same name. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
