
He’s alone, she’s alone, everyone’s alone at the mid-year dance, a cheerless gathering for all concerned. Danny (Noah Taylor) makes a statement with his outfit, a little bit Marlon Brando, a little bit Elvis. He is deflated when Trevor (Ben Mendelsohn), who’s supposed to be locked up, turns up to sweep Freya (Loene Carmen) off her feet. Summary by Paul Byrnes.
Note the pan along the glum girls’ faces – an entire theme in that one shot. While Danny’s emotions drive the film, it constantly shows us the disappointment and discrimination against women in this milieu.
Danny (Noah Taylor) is a gawky 15-year-old, in love with his best friend, the beautiful and free-spirited Freya (Loene Carmen). They’re misfits in a country town in NSW in 1962. When Freya falls for Trevor (Ben Mendelsohn), football star and apprentice delinquent, Danny’s sexual longing turns to jealous confusion. As he tries to win her back, Danny uncovers a dark secret in the town’s past.
Beneath its quirky story of coming of age in rural Australia, The Year My Voice Broke is a savage portrait of a small town hypocrisy and sexual repression. The beauty of the hills around the town, where Freya and Danny have played together since childhood, is a kind of paradise, in marked contrast to the unhappy living rooms below, where adult problems play out in secret shame. Writer-director John Duigan continually emphasises high and low angles of view and constructs a sense of paradise lost, with a strongly emotional core. The film is an unusual mix – both romantic pastorale, a nostalgic memoir of growing up in the countryside, and a shocking denunciation of its values. The latter was not especially new, but the film’s delicate balance of dark and light tone, especially its use of laconic humour (the mid-year dance, and Trevor’s constant car thefts) made the film very popular with audiences. Geoff Burton’s cinematography is of immense value in establishing a strong sense of place. The film was followed three years later by a sequel, Flirting, in which Danny, played again by Noah Taylor, goes to boarding school.
Notes by Paul Byrnes
This clip shows Freya (Loene Carmen) dancing by herself at the school dance. A slow shot tracks along the faces of girls seated along the wall who are hoping to be asked for a dance. Outside, Danny (Noah Taylor) confidently approaches the dancehall, but a group of bullies jeer him as he enters, making fun of his appearance. Inside, he meets Freya and asks her to dance, but she refuses, suggesting he asks the wallflowers. Trevor (Ben Mendelsohn) appears in the doorway. Freya sees him and goes to meet him. The dancing stops and Trevor and Freya embrace then depart, with Trevor waving to the crowd. Danny is shown in focus behind the dancers, as they all watch the couple leave.
Education notes provided by The Learning Federation and Education Services Australia
This clip starts approximately 58 minutes into the feature.
’60s music plays as we pan around the hall, seeing some students dancing happily, and a number seated forlornly on the sidelines. Freya dances alone, and listlessly, on the dancefloor.
Boy Hey, Freya. Got a couple of beers outside for later.
Freya (sarcastically) Gee!
Boy 2 We’ll walk you home after.
Freya Oh, yeah.
Outside, Danny arrives, smoking and wearing sunglasses and a black leather jacket.
Boy The sun a bit bright for you, Embling?
Boy 2 He reckons he’s Marlon Brando. How ya going, Marlon?
Boy Where’s your white stick?
Boy 2 Probably been wanking all day!
Girl Oh, God, you two are off!
Danny stands coolly on the dancefloor and Freya approaches him.
Freya Hi, sexy.
Danny Hi.
He offers her his cigarette.
Freya Given up. Must have been your hypnotising me. Gee, you’re clever.
Danny You with anyone?
Freya Myself.
Danny Me too.
Freya Pretty pleased with my partner.
Danny Wanna dance?
Freya In a while. Try one of them.
Danny Plenty of time.
Freya Good luck.
She blows him a kiss and walks off. Danny sidles up to the seated students and speaks to the nearest girl.
Danny Wanna dance?
Girl No, thanks.
Just as Danny recovers from a hacking coughing fit after inhaling cigarette smoke, Trevor appears in the doorway. Freya walks over and kisses him. Trevor waves and they depart, as the students all stop and stare. The music continues as we see Danny, crushed, in the background.
The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia acknowledges Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work and live and gives respect to their Elders both past and present.