Careful, He Might Hear You (1983)

A Major Disappointment

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

This one is from Australia, and centers on an eight year old boy called P.S. (Nicholas Gledhill...this was his first role.) There's a tug of war for custody of P.S., between Aunt Lily and Vanessa. Right at the beginning, Lily tries to explain to the boy why he must go off with Vanessa, but he's only eight, after all. Quite a variation from the Auntie Mame story; here, its all serious education and proper behavior, pretty much the opposite of Mame. So much PINK! have you ever seen so much pink in one room? Large, imposing rooms. And not allowed to get out and play with others. Vanessa kept him all to herself. Not much fun for a youngster who had so much fun in Sydney. Here, he can't seem to do anything right. Vanessa thinks she is doing the right thing for him, but doesn't really know that a youngster wants to just play. Then, stuff happens... which might help turn things around for him.Story by Sumner Elliott. The novel was written when he was about 46... film done when he was about 66; wonder if its his own story. Elliott was born down Undah, and died in NYC. Directed by Carl Schultz, who did mostly television projects. Finally it's out on DVD. Good story.

"Careful He Might Hear You" is a movie that is hard to forget. Although it enjoyed a certain amount of success when it was released in the mid-1980's, it seems little known today. At the time of writing, this is the seventh review on IMDb. By way of comparison, Mad Max has 220 reviews, but I know which one I think is the enduring Australian classic.The filmmakers had a great starting point, Sumner Locke Elliott's haunting novel. Although many a great book has been mangled when made into a film, that wasn't the case here. The film not only captures the essence of Elliott's work but also recreates an era that is now long gone.Set during the Depression in 1930's Sydney it is the story of six-year old PS, played by Nicholas Gledhill in a heart-wrenching performance. After his mother dies, PS is raised by his Aunt Lila and Uncle George (Robyn Nevin and Peter Whitford). However, when his wealthy Aunt Vanessa returns from England, PS is forced to live with her following a custody dispute. Vanessa, played by Wendy Hughes, is beautiful and sophisticated with upper class manners, but underneath are deep insecurities, which PS discovers in dramatic fashion.Vanessa showers PS with gifts and provides the education the struggling Lila and George can't match, but he is lonely and unhappy. He withholds from Vanessa the one thing she wants most, and the only thing he has power over, his affection. PS emotionally destroys Vanessa, who decides to return to England, allowing PS to return to Lila and George. However PS is sensitive enough to know the unhappiness he has caused Vanessa and regrets it. Then fate intervenes in an unexpected way.Surely the biggest challenge for the filmmakers was in creating a screenplay that translated Sumner Locke Elliott's intimate work to the screen, so much of which centred on PS's thoughts. Without resorting to narration, all was conveyed through the abilities of the actors, a beautifully balanced script and an extraordinary musical score that seemed to express their unspoken thoughts.The score for this film was by Ray Cook, an expatriate Australian who died in 1989. He has one other score to his credit, "Silent Reach", a little known 1983 mini-series, although he was also involved in arranging songs for 1985's "Rebel". His score for "Careful He Might Hear You" is in a similar vein to Vaughan William's "The Lark Ascending" with achingly beautiful violin solos that merge with full orchestra. It is wrong to simply define it as one of the greatest Australian film scores; it is a work that can stand comparison with some of the best scores of all time.Although "Careful He Might Hear You" is almost 30 years old, it hasn't dated. Set in a time 50 years before it was made, there really isn't much that connects it to the 1980's. It did justice to Sumner Locke Elliott's novel, but also stands as a powerful work on its own. It's probably a little hard to find these days, but is well worth the efforts of anyone who does.

One of the best British movies that I've seen. This is certainly in the tradition of the 1946 heartbreak "Brief Encounter."This gem of a film deals with the ensuing custody battle between a couple and the wife's sister. The problem is that their third sister, the mother of the child, has died and the father, an alcoholic, is not capable of raising the child. We learn that at one time the father had a romantic interlude with his wealthy sister-in-law.The little boy, Nicholas Gledhill,gives the most phenomenal performance. Interesting to read that this young lad has never appeared in another film. The cruelty that this child has to go through when he stays with his wealthy aunt-from the children from the private school that he attends. The film demonstrates how mean other children can be.The film is so good because it shows two diverse sisters-one who is wealthy and the other, poverty stricken especially when her husband, a defeated candidate from the Labor Party, loses his job.The musical score is fabulous and absolutely haunting. The ending will tug at your heart with its Titanic like tragic occurrence.This is a memorable film, well told.

The film is a superb adaptation of the book. As is true of most adaptations, it doesn't quite live up to the book. Read the book first--and then see the movie. The acting is first-rate. The little boy, Nicholas Gledhill, is amazing. And Wendy Hughes is stunning--what a shame she has never caught on with American audiences in her relatively unproductive American film and television career. The film is another example of the high quality work that comes out of Australia with such frequency.