A young woman, Katrina Stanton, goes in search of the father
she has never known and who she originally thought was dead, that is until her
mother passed away and she discovered a secret diary. It was Katrina’s
grandmother who sent her father away because of his dishonourable discharge
from the army. Her search takes her from
Australia to England where she meets her uncle who informs her about the
details of Hal Stanton’s life suggesting she continues her search in Bangkok for
a man who can not face his past, an ex lawyer who has turned to alcohol for
solace. There she meets a charming young man, Arkie Regan, who unbeknown to her
plants drugs in her luggage and deserts her when the authorities find them
during a routine search at the airport. Following her imprisonment in the
notorious Bangkok Hilton prison she awaits the decision of the authorities on
whether she should face the death penalty. Her only contact in Bangkok is her father’s
solicitor who refuses to divulge her father’s whereabouts but agrees to help
her defence.
Normally I would not blog a TV Mini Series, but in the case
of Bangkok
Hilton (1989) there are mitigating circumstances. Firstly it’s a very
good series and secondly it stars Nicole
Kidman in her pre-Hollywood days as Katrina Stanton. This six part mini series was written for her
by Terry Hayes and inspired by a true story, the Barlow Chambers case which
took place in in Malaysia in 1986 when two men where hanged for heroin smuggling.
Nicole appears opposite the experienced English actor Denholm Elliott who plays
her father, Hugo Weaving, who was seen recently in Mystery
Road (2013), portrays Richard Carlisle the family solicitor with Jerome
Ehlers as Regan. Originally broadcast on Australian television as three
two-hour episodes in November 1989 and on the UK TV in April 1990. The DVD
release was split into 6 episodes at approx. 45 minutes each (no adverts of
course).
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| Nicole Kidman plays opposite.... |
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| the English actor Denholm Elliott. |
Nicole Kidman was quite busy during this period with firstly
Emerald
City (1988) and then her breakthrough film Dead Calm in 1989 which would lead to her Hollywood debut opposite
Tom Cruise in Days of Thunder in
1990. In Bangkok Hilton she is excellent, it’s quite rightly regarded as one of
her best performances. With director Ken Cameron commenting ‘you are constantly surprised by the fact
that one moment she seems to be a very young women enjoying herself and being
completely spontaneous. The next minute she is a serious actress, capable of a
performance that can move you in a way that you don’t expect from one so young.
(She was 22 years old at the time) She
looks wonderful, is enormously appealing on screen, and has something about her
which belongs to the time. To have all these quantities is a rare thing’[1].
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| Life in the Bangkok Hilton. |
The whole project is superior to many movies. Very well
written and acted, which like me I’m sure you will find gripping and authentic
and although the ‘clothes’ may have dated the actual story could easily be
happening right this minute.
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