“What’s wrong, soldier boy? Did your mommy not love you?”

The most brutal and intense movie i’ve ever seen in my life. 

People walked out, someone fainted. Completely unflinching and horrifying from start to finish, and many scenes made me so uncomfortable i didn’t want to watch anymore.  Jennifer Kent is the only person who could have made this film, and her exploration of female trauma and colonialism’s impact on the aboriginal peoples of Australia & Tasmania was incredible. I’m gonna go throw up now.

A savvy bit of Sundance programming to show this on Australia Day... which made it that much more brutal to watch. The plot is simple, a revenge story set in 1800s Tasmania - but the history that surrounds it is anything but. At school in Australia, I was taught about the “settlement” of our country by the British and the “civilization” of the native people. It was only later that I learnt how many Aboriginies were murdered in the process. Jennifer Kent didn’t hold back, showing this dark side of our history in full force. Which means, it’s not much fun to watch! Definitely not for the faint hearted, as there’s no light to be found. But there’s also no doubt that she is a filmmaker with an unflinching voice.

I'm fully on board for the revenge film set in a time and place where its protagonists lives have literally no value to the shitty people in power, but I struggled with the bland moral handwringing over the violence here as well as the almost cartoonishly ostentatious bleakness, elements which basically cancelled each other out for me, making this mostly just a very long sit.

finnick odair, you lil' fucking bitch

Exceptional follow-up to The Babadook, uncompromising in its brutality yet tender in its way. Part rape-revenge Ozsploitation, part historical fiction about the evils of colonialism, the film feels rich as both a play on genre and a statement on foundational sin. Kent ain't fucking around.

I can’t believe how unrecognized and underappreciated this movie is. The slow-burn and numb atmosphere it incorporates effectively connects with the background of the story. It’s nightmarish and disturbing, but the motive for this narrative is purposeful and beneficial when attempting to provide an almost tangible sense of unwelcomed dominion. It also provides this in a deeper, more rooted scale by including tragic colonization from the Tasmanian Aboriginal community (which she heavily collaborated with the community to respectfully include this into her story).

Devastating and powerful commentary on class, race, and gender with possibly the best performance of the year. It’s brutal but artistically rewarding if you can handle it.

This thing was so disturbing and brutal right off the bat that I honestly started becoming desensitised to the atrocities being shown. After reading the copious research done and how this is an honest depiction of life there and then, I am ashamed at the desensitisation and I don’t like me right now.

A woman treks across the Austrailan outback to get revenge on the men who killed her husband and baby. A contained and claustrophobic opening act is hard to watch, but when the action moves to the great outdoors a smattering of humour pierces the horror that has gone before and that we know is still to come. The Nightingale is an accomplised piece of work that manages to ratchet up the tension from the opening scenes and never looses its grip. Horrifying and unmissable

Yeah it probably wasn’t a good idea to recommend this to my mum but here we are...

as someone who has experienced serious sexual trauma this was almost entirely unwatchable I kept having to skip the rape scenes and what I could watch was so boring and pointless I didn't see much of a point

At least exploitative murder revenge stories like I spit on your grave know what they are and don't pretend to be this high class superior art. The nightingale follows the same tired plot of every revenge movie ever with a female lead and does nothing new, writing is very predictable, characters are all very stereotypical especially the incredibly cartoonishly evil antagonists who don't feel like actual characters as everytime they're on screen they have to remind you how evil they are. The cinematography is fine, I don't even remember if there's any music in the film at all really. There's a massive over reliance on padding to fill out this overly long run time for such a basic and unimaginative premise. My few positives of the film are that the acting is pretty good and all the effects for the violence look great, apart from when they use CGI blood which looks shit.

I need Billy to help me navigate my life❤️

This movie was interesting but LONG af.

Brutal. The lack of score make it feel even more hard to endure. The violence is needless at times and seemingly becomes used for shock value, however it is incredibly well shot. 

I need time to settle on this one

One of the best revenge films i've ever seen. Aisling Franciosi and Baykali Ganambarr are absolutely entrancing. The pain and sorrow behind their eyes can be seen throughout the whole film. While it is a brutal watch, it doesn't over do it or ever seem unrealistic in terms of what occurred in that period of history. Its a personal story that understands and recognises the historical context around the time its set.

A couple poor performances from minor characters and dip in pacing towards the middle prevents me from giving it a perfect score but it is one of the best films of 2019.

A gut punch of a movie that uses the western to deconstruct imperialism, colonialism, and more. Could've gone without three rape scenes though.

The chain of events can feel a little sluggish and convenient, but the performances on display more than make up for it.

It's a really powerful film that has alot to say about today, unfortunately. I think the men in the film are overly monsterous, but I am sure there are people out there like that, and it's nice to see a revenge story where you honestly route for the protagonist. She's a really tragic hero, but a really wonderfully realised character.

The time period and tone was very consistant too. I really enjoyed the film despite it's difficult nature.

Impressed.