The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce
Encyclopedia
The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce is a 2008 Australian film directed by Michael James Rowland
Michael James Rowland
- The early years :Prior to his screen career, Michael James Rowland studied graphic design at the North Adelaide School of Art in South Australia and started his early working life as a designer / illustrator specialising in the Arts. His list of freelance clients grew to include Sony , Womad ...

 starring Irish actors Adrian Dunbar
Adrian Dunbar
Adrian Dunbar is an actor from Northern Ireland, best known for his television and theatre work. Dunbar co-wrote and starred in the 1991 film, Hear My Song, nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the BAFTA awards.-Personal life:...

 as Philip Conolly and Ciaran McMenamin
Ciarán McMenamin
Ciarán McMenamin is an Irish actor who is now living in South London. He is best known for playing Matt Anderson, replacing Jason Flemyng as lead on Primeval.- Early life :...

 as Alexander Pearce
Alexander Pearce
Alexander Pearce was an Irish convict who was transported to Van Diemen's Land for theft. He escaped from prison several times, but eventually was captured and was hanged and dissected in Hobart for murder....

. The film was shot on location in Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

 and Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

 between April and May 2008.

The film was nominated for the 2010 Rose d'Or
Rose d'Or
The Rose d’Or is one of the most important international festivals in entertainment television. It was founded in Montreux in 1961 and has taken place in Lucerne since 2004. Producers, executives from independent and public service broadcasters and heads of production companies from over 40...

, Best Drama at the 6th Annual Irish Film and Television Awards
Irish Film and Television Awards
The Irish Film and Television Awards were first awarded in 2003. Its sole aim is to celebrate Ireland's notably talented film and television community...

, Best Drama at the 2009 Australian Film Institute
Australian Film Institute
The Australian Film Institute was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry...

 Awards , won Best Documentary at the 2009 Inside Film Awards
Inside Film Awards
The Inside Film Awards is an annual awards ceremony and broadcast platform for the Australian film industry, a format created by Australian Producer Andrew Dillon...

 and the director Michael James Rowland was nominated in the Best Director (Telemovie) category in the 2009 Australian Directors Guild Awards.

Premise and title

The film follows the final days of Irish convict Alexander Pearce's life as he awaits execution. In 1824 the British penal colony
Penal colony
A penal colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general populace by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory...

 of Van Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land was the original name used by most Europeans for the island of Tasmania, now part of Australia. The Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first European to land on the shores of Tasmania...

 is little more than a living hell. Chained to a wall in the darkness of a cell under Hobart
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...

 Gaol, Pearce is visited by Father Philip Conolly, the parish priest of the fledgling colony and a fellow Irishman. Pearce wishes to tell the priest his recollection of the horrors he endured in the three months spent traversing the brutal wilderness of Van Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land was the original name used by most Europeans for the island of Tasmania, now part of Australia. The Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first European to land on the shores of Tasmania...

. Conolly struggles to reconcile his desire to grant absolution to the convict with the story Pearce tells him. The title of the film comes from the remarkable interaction between Philip Conolly and Alexander Pearce days before Pearce is executed. The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce is presented as a psychoanalytical historical epic.

The film details the convict's relinquishing psyche as he finds himself succumbing to the inevitably of his imminent execution. For much of the film, the complex relationship between Pearce and Conolly is examined. The circumstances and motives of Pearce's execution are, too, put into question by Rowland.

Production

Producer and co-writer Nial Fulton began developing The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 in 1998 and production
Filmmaking
Filmmaking is the process of making a film, from an initial story, idea, or commission, through scriptwriting, casting, shooting, directing, editing, and screening the finished product before an audience that may result in a theatrical release or television program...

 began on the project in Australia in the summer of 2006. The film was commissioned and financed by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...

, RTE
RTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...

, BBC Northern Ireland
BBC Northern Ireland
BBC Northern Ireland is the main public service broadcaster in Northern Ireland.The organisation is one of the three national regions of the BBC, together with BBC Scotland and BBC Wales. Based at Broadcasting House, Belfast, it provides television, radio, online and interactive television content...

, Screen Australia
Screen Australia
Screen Australia is the Federal Government’s key funding body for the Australian screen production industry. Its functions are to support and promote the development of a highly creative, innovative and commercially sustainable industry....

 and Screen Tasmania.

The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce was inspired by the story of an escape from the infamous Sarah Island penal settlement in Macquarie Harbour
Macquarie Harbour
Macquarie Harbour is a large, shallow, but navigable by shallow draft vessels inlet on the West Coast of Tasmania, Australia.-History:James Kelly wrote in his narrative "First Discovery of Port Davey and Macquarie Harbour" how he sailed from Hobart in a small open five-oared whaleboat to discover...

, Van Diemen's Land in 1822 by Irish convict Alexander Pearce and the subsequent confession he made to the Hobart priest Phillip Conolly days before he was executed for the murder of fellow convict Thomas Cox.

Script

Written by Michael James Rowland and Nial Fulton, the script draws on all four confessions made by Alexander Pearce, but principally on the confessions he made to Commandant John Cuthbertson and the final confession made to the priest Phillip Conolly. In many places the script uses the exact words written down in these confessions.

Principal cast

  • Adrian Dunbar
    Adrian Dunbar
    Adrian Dunbar is an actor from Northern Ireland, best known for his television and theatre work. Dunbar co-wrote and starred in the 1991 film, Hear My Song, nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the BAFTA awards.-Personal life:...

     as Phillip Conolly
  • Ciaran McMenamin
    Ciarán McMenamin
    Ciarán McMenamin is an Irish actor who is now living in South London. He is best known for playing Matt Anderson, replacing Jason Flemyng as lead on Primeval.- Early life :...

      as Alexander Pearce
  • Dan Wyllie as Robert Greenhill
  • Don Hany
    Don Hany
    Don Hany is an Australian award-winning actor. He is best known for his role in the series White Collar Blue, the film Lucky Miles and in the mini-series East West 101.-Biography:...

     as John Mather
  • Bob Franklin as Matthew Travers
  • Chris Haywood
    Chris Haywood
    Chris Haywood is an English-born, Australian-based film and television actor/producer.-Early life:Haywood was born in Billericay, Essex, England. He spent his early childhood in Chelmsford before moving to High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire where he attended High Wycombe Royal Grammar School from...

     as Reverend Robert Knopwood
    Robert Knopwood
    Robert Knopwood was an early clergyman and diarist in Australia.Knopwood was the third child and only surviving son of Robert Knopwood and his wife Elizabeth, née Barton of Threxton, Norfolk, England. Knopwood was educated at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, and graduated B.A. in 1786, M.A....


Van Diemen's Land / Tasmania

Shot over five weeks on location in Tasmania and Sydney, the film used locations around Derwent Bridge
Derwent Bridge, Tasmania
Derwent Bridge is a locality on the Lyell Highway at the southern edge of the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park.It is just south of Lake St Clair and the Lake St Clair visitor centre; and it is north of Lake King William and the Butlers Gorge Power Station.It is also the last inhabited...

, Lake St Clair
Lake St Clair (Tasmania)
Lake St Clair is a lake in the Central Highlands area of Tasmania, Australia. It forms part of the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park. It has a maximum depth of 200 m, making it Australia's deepest lake....

, Nelsons Falls, Tahune, Mount Wellington
Mount Wellington (Tasmania)
Mount Wellington is a mountain on whose foothills is built much of the city of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. It is often referred to simply as 'the Mountain' by the residents of Hobart, and it rises to AHD over the city....

 and Rozelle. Many of the filming locations were selected as they were places Alexander Pearce may have passed through on his escape from Sarah Island.

Critical response and reviews

The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce received positive reviews internationally from film critics.
  • The Age
    The Age
    The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...

  • The Australian
    The Australian
    The Australian is a broadsheet newspaper published in Australia from Monday to Saturday each week since 14 July 1964. The editor in chief is Chris Mitchell, the editor is Clive Mathieson and the 'editor-at-large' is Paul Kelly....

  • Sydney Morning Herald
  • Jackson Free Press
    Jackson Free Press
    The Jackson Free Press, referred to often as simply "JFP", is an alternative weekly newspaper in Jackson, Mississippi founded in 2002 by Mississippi native Donna Ladd, author and technology expert Todd Stauffer and a group of young Jacksonians wanting a progressive voice in the state...

  • The Independent
    The Independent
    The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...

  • Filmink

  • BBC
    BBC
    The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

  • Inside Film Magazine
  • Belfast Telegraph
  • Sunday Mirror
    Sunday Mirror
    The Sunday Mirror is the Sunday sister paper of the Daily Mirror. It began life in 1915 as the Sunday Pictorial and was renamed the Sunday Mirror in 1963. Trinity Mirror also owns The People...

  • Tasmanian Examiner
  • The Northern Star
    The Northern Star
    The Northern Star is a daily newspaper serving Lismore, New South Wales, Australia. The newspaper is owned by APN News & Media.The Northern Star is circulated to Lismore and surrounding communities, from Billinudgel to the north, to Kyogle and Casino to the west and Evans Head to the south and...



Empire Magazine, The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...

 and the Sydney Morning Herald all gave the film 4/5 stars.

Awards

2010
  • Rose d'Or
    Rose d'Or
    The Rose d’Or is one of the most important international festivals in entertainment television. It was founded in Montreux in 1961 and has taken place in Lucerne since 2004. Producers, executives from independent and public service broadcasters and heads of production companies from over 40...



2009
  • Irish Film and Television Awards
    Irish Film and Television Awards
    The Irish Film and Television Awards were first awarded in 2003. Its sole aim is to celebrate Ireland's notably talented film and television community...

    • Nominated - Best Drama -Nial Fulton
  • AFI Awards
    Australian Film Institute Awards
    The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award, known as the AACTA Award , is an accolade presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts . The awards recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry and television industry, including directors,...

  • Australian Directors Guild
    • Nominated - Best Director - Michael James Rowland
  • Inside Film Awards
    Inside Film Awards
    The Inside Film Awards is an annual awards ceremony and broadcast platform for the Australian film industry, a format created by Australian Producer Andrew Dillon...

  • APRA Awards
    APRA Awards
    The APRA Music Awards are several award ceremonies run in Australia and New Zealand by Australasian Performing Right Association to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually....

    of 2009
    APRA Awards of 2009
    The Australasian Performing Right Association Awards of 2009 are a series of awards which include the APRA Music Awards, Classical Music Awards, and Screen Music Awards. The APRA Music Awards ceremony occurred on 23 June at the Peninsula in Melbourne, they were presented by APRA and the...

     for Screen Music
    • Winner - Best Music for a Telemovie - Roger Mason
      Roger Mason (musician)
      Roger Ashley Mason is an Australian keyboardist who has been a member of New Wave groups Models, Absent Friends and Icehouse. He was a session and backing musician for United Kingdom's Gary Numan and for various Australian artists...


Festivals

2010
  • Crossroads Film Festival Mississippi
    Mississippi
    Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...

     2010
    • Winner Best Narrative Feature Nial Fulton & Michael James Rowland
  • European Independent Film Festival Paris
    Paris
    Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

     2010
    • Winner Best Non-European Dramatic Feature Nial Fulton & Michael James Rowland
  • Bridge Fest Sarajevo
    Sarajevo
    Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....

     2010


2009
  • Rome International Film Festival 2009
    • Nominated Best Feature
  • Newport International Film Festival 2009
    • Special Jury Prize Nial Fulton
  • Tregor International Film Festival - France
    France
    The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

     2009
    • Winner Best Film (Under 60mins)
    • Nominated Best Director Michael James Rowland
    • Nominated Best Screenplay Nial Fulton & Michael James Rowland
    • Nominated Best Actor Adrian Dunbar
    • Opening Night Film
  • Perth International Film Festival - Australia 2009
  • Austin Film Festival - Texas
    Texas
    Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

     2009
    • Nominated Best Actor Adrian Dunbar
  • Heart of England International Film Festival - England
    England
    England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

     2009
    • Nominated Best Feature
  • Cape Winelands Film Festival - South Africa
    South Africa
    The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

     2009
  • International Film Festival Ireland - Ireland
    Ireland
    Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

    2009
    • Nominated Best Feature


2008
  • Clones Film Festival - Ireland 2008

External links

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