Amy (1997 film)

Amy is a 1997 Australian film written by David Parker and directed by Nadia Tass, starring Alana De Roma in the title role, Rachel Griffiths, Ben Mendelsohn, and Nick Barker.

The story developed from a concept inspired by the Man of La Mancha and the screenplay was developed by Tass' husband David Parker. The project that took eleven years to complete due to financial problems and a difficult search for the perfect "Amy".

Amy's (Alana De Roma) father, Will Enker (Nick Barker), was a popular rock musician accidentally electrocuted while performing on stage. The psychological trauma leaves Amy mute and deaf. So the 8-year-old is brought by her mother, Tanya (Rachel Griffiths), to Melbourne to diagnose the reasons for her continued silence. Amy befriends her neighbor, Robert (Ben Mendelsohn), and while social workers try desperately to get her to speak and go to school, she makes the choice to communicate again and begins to sing along to Robert's rock songs after three years of silence. Her mother works out her own emotional issues with the help of a therapist.

The film first screened at the Athens International Film Festival on 12 September 1997, and had its Australian premiere 27 August 1998. It was screened at multiple film festivals from 1998 through 2003, before its television debut in Italy on 14 October 2004.

When it was released, Amy received rave reviews and many awards and nominations. However, the film also received criticism as it was sometimes felt to be dated and imprecise in its references to Amy's plight, however, in France and the U.S, the movie was a hit, apparently receiving standing ovations at some theatres. The film received approval from Lawrence van Gelder of the New York Times when he offered that "A couple of good performances, linked to a crowd-pleasing but predictable story marred by some slapdash construction await audiences..." and "Warm of heart, modest in polish, 'Amy' provides satisfactions that must be balanced against its flaws." The Seattle Post-Intelligencer was less forgiving when they opined that "although the film is a decidedly mixed bag, it's blessed by solid performances from a top-notch cast", that it "feels dated and imprecise", and is "not able to make up its mind whether it wants to be slapstick or a heart-wrenching drama."