Father and child sit together smiling while looking at a smart phone.

Want more recommendations for your family?

Sign up for our weekly newsletter for entertainment inspiration

Parents' Guide to

A Cry in the Dark

By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Mom is wrongly accused of murder; language, violence.

Movie PG-13 1988 120 minutes
A Cry in the Dark Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

See all

There aren't any parent reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.

What's the Story?

A CRY IN THE DARK attempts to recreate the divisive near hysteria that overtook much of Australia in the 1980s over the innocence or guilt of a young Australian mother whose baby was taken by a dingo during a vacation in the Outback. Michael Chamberlain (Sam Neill) is a naive young Seventh Day Adventist pastor deeply devoted to wife Lindy (Meryl Streep), a bright, no-nonsense mother of their three kids. Along with many other families, they're camping on the cheap in the wilderness near Ayres Rock in the remote Outback. Dingoes (in the wild dog family) are boldly darting among the invading humans, grabbing food and unlucky mice as they find them. One night, as the families barbecue together, Lindy checks the tent where her nine-month-old is sleeping on the ground and, through the dark, sees a dingo run out, presumably with the baby in its mouth. The dingo gallops into the shadows and neither it nor the baby are ever seen again. The first inquest confirms this tragic story and the couple return home to get on with their lives. But throughout the country, in an era before cell phones, the internet, and 24-7-news delivery, Australians question Lindy's story. Fights break out, dinner parties are disrupted. The skepticism and ugliness prompt the police to take another look and so-called experts start reaching baseless conclusions about Lindy's guilt without any evidence or motive to speak of. Lindy is sentenced to prison and Michael is deemed her accomplice. The details of their judicial journey to acquittal is long and complex and not explained in great detail, but closing credits announce that the Chamberlains are eventually exonerated.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

A Cry in the Dark admirably recreates the mass hysteria that overtook Australia as citizens argued passionately about the role of a mother in her baby's death. Streep and Neill ably portray pawns in a media frenzy captured by Australian director Fred Schepisi. Intercut with the story are random debates, and even physical fights, among people at bars, on the street, during posh dinner parties, and on TV, echoing at times the chilling irrationality of the Salem witch trials. It almost explains how the phrase Lindy shouted that night in the Outback -- "A dingo took my baby!" -- became a punchline in Australia and among American comedians, as if someone stupid had made up the worst murder alibi ever.

Perhaps it's due to the complexity of this incredible yet true story that the film feels a bit murky at times. Late in the action a broken tent zipper is mentioned, for the first time explaining how an animal could possibly have entered the tent where seemingly responsible parents had left their newborn alone. And there's no explanation given for the Chamberlains' triumph over the judicial system as the film ends. We're simply told Lindy was released from prison and the couple was eventually exonerated.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about mass hysteria that rouses the pubic to loudly take sides about the Chamberlains' guilt. Why do you think people took such interest in this case across Australia and around the world?

  • Why do you think the masses reacted so strongly to the death?

  • Can you think of any other similarly controversial cases?

Movie Details

Inclusion information powered by

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

See all recommended movie lists

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate