Indigenous filmmaker Warwick Thornton and his first feature film Samson & Delilah have attracted tons of attention because of his background, but this film stands on its own as a remarkable creation. I went without preconceptions, knowing little except the Cannes hype, and I can report back that Samson & Delilah opens eyes and hearts.
Rowan McNamara fully inhabits the character of Samson, an aimless petrol-sniffing young Aboriginal man in an isolated Central Australian town. He falls in love with Delilah, a pretty young Aboriginal woman (played by Marissa Gibson – an even more powerful role, scarily genuine) looking after her old grandmother. Tragedy intrudes and the two of them embark on a hellish road trip into the big city. It’s mighty confronting material that nonetheless rings absolutely true. The ending, no syrupy good news at all, nonetheless contains a kernel of hope.
Samson & Delilah is not without flaws. Thornton’s direction smacks of clumsiness – I was fidgetty for most of the film, feeling as if I was watching an untutored film from a remote country, which, on reflection, is correct and aptly correct. But the writing, the characters, the story are unequivocally courageous and moving. Like My Year Without Sex, this is a window into real life, just as it is and as capriciously heartless and heartfelt as it is.