This is an extremely-powerful based-on-a-true story film that can be infuriating to watch. I say that because how brutal a hounding press can be to people, in this case an innocent Australian couple charged with killing their baby.

Meryl Streep received a lot of recognition for her performance when this film came out but I thought Sam Neill was just as good. Let's just say they both were excellent but the role was little harder for Streep because she had to learn an Australian accent. (She learned it so well I had trouble understanding her in parts.)

Without giving anything away, all I can say is this movie will wear you out emotionally.

Based on a true story, Lindy Chamberlain (Meryl Streep) loses her baby to a dingo while camping near Ayers Rock in Australia. She and her husband Michael (Sam Neill) would go through an odyssey of lies and innuendos leading to their conviction in the murder of their child.

The story moves along quite well with the two stellar leads. When I rewatched it recently, I saw the realism of the court case and the gossip that goes along with a celebrity case. I didn't really care that much about O J Simpson when it happened. But I had some time during the Casey Anthony case, and the media circus is so close to this movie. All those little real people inserts in the movie just hit the nail on the head.

I also love the performances of Neill and Streep. I love when the husband started to break down. I love that after the conviction, Streep tells the guards that Neill is going to fall. I love all their interplay. The one thing I would change is to not show the dingo in the tent when it happened. I would plant a little doubt in the mind of the audience. It would cause a little bit of unease especially in the beginning. Other than that, this is perfectly made.

When I first saw "A Cry in the Dark", I had no idea what the plot was. But when I saw it, I was shocked at what it portrayed. When I saw it a second time in an Australian Cinema class, I realized a second point: communication issues. You see, when a dingo snatched Lindy Chamberlain's (Meryl Streep) baby, she and her husband Michael (Sam Neill) were grief-stricken but didn't show it. As Seventh Day Adventists, they believed that God willed this to happen, and so they couldn't mourn it. But when people all over Australia saw their lack of sadness, everyone started believing that Lindy did it herself.

The point is, the wrong message got communicated to the public, and it turned people against Lindy. Even though this was a pure accident, it still happened. It may be one of the biggest disasters resulting from the existence of mass media, regardless of any media outlet's political views.

As for the performances, Streep does a very good job with an Australian accent (no surprise there),and Sam Neill is equally great. You will probably get blown away just by what you see here. Definitely one of Fred Schepisi's best movies ever.