The Drover's Wife (film)

The film opens with a scene in which Molly Johnson, heavily pregnant, shoots a stray bull which has wandered near her home, after ensuring that her four children are safe. Shortly afterwards the new sergeant of the district, Sergeant Klintoff, turns up with his sickly wife, Louisa, asking if they could share some of the meat that they smelt cooking, as they had lost all of their provisions when crossing the river. She gives them food in exchange for their taking her children to the settlement for safekeeping while her new baby is born.

• Leah Purcell as Molly Johnson, the drover's wife
• Rob Collins as Yadaka
• Sam Reid as Sergeant Klintoff
• Jessica De Gouw as Louisa Klintoff, the sergeant's wife
• Malachi Dower-Roberts as Danny Johnson, Molly's eldest son

The plot is a reworking of Henry Lawson's 1892 short story The Drover's Wife, but deviates significantly from the original story as developed in Purcell's earlier award-winning play and novel of the same name. It tells the story of a woman living with her children in an isolated location in the High Country in the colony of New South Wales near the border of the colony of Victoria.[1]

Purcell reimagines Lawson's story through an Indigenous feminist lens, inspired by her own lived experience and the stories of her ancestors.[2] The character of Yadaka was inspired by Purcell's great-grandfather, Tippo Charlie Chambers.[1]

The story is set in the Snowy Mountains and much of the filming was done there, mostly around Adaminaby. Cinematography was by Mark Wareham.[1]

It is Purcell's debut film as director and writer. It is the first Australian feature film to be written and directed by an Indigenous woman who also stars in the lead role.[2] Her husband, Bain Stewart, is lead producer and executive producer on the film.[3]

The original soundtrack is by Salliana Seven Campbell.[4]

After being delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic,[3] the film had its world premiere at South by Southwest (SXSW) on 18 March 2021.[5] It also screened at the Warsaw International Film Festival,[6] Cinefest Oz, the Melbourne International Film Festival, the Brisbane International Film Festival[7] and the Sydney Film Festival[8] before being released in Australian cinemas on 5 May 2022[9] and in the UK on 13 May 2022.[10]

International distribution is handled by Memento Films International.[7]

The film opened to generally positive reviews. The acting, cinematography and Salliana Seven Campbell's score were praised by several critics.[4][11][12][13][14][8][10]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 80% of 61 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.7/10. The website's consensus reads: "The Drover's Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson occasionally struggles to cohere, but writer-director-star Leah Purcell offers a unique, compelling perspective on historic myths."[15]

• Horáková, Martina (5 April 2022). ""Kin-fused" revenge: Rewriting the canon and settler belonging in Leah Purcell's The Drover's Wife". Journal of Postcolonial Writing. Informa UK. 58 (4): 511–523. doi:10.1080/17449855.2022.2051867. ISSN 1744-9855. S2CID 248014894.

• The Drover's Wife at IMDb