The Devil's Playground
Clip 3: Tom asks God for a sign
2 min 51 sec
Taken from the feature The Devil's Playground (1976)
Original title classification M – this clip chosen to be PG
Availability of the complete title
Curator’s clip description
After Brother Francine’s sudden departure from the order, Tom (Simon Burke) and his best friend Fitz (John Diedrich) talk about their surprise. In the next scene, Fitz is gone, without explanation. The principal, Brother Celian (John Frawley), refuses to give Tom his friend’s address. Tom has his own crisis of belief.
Curator’s notes
The sequence moves quickly from sly humour (talking about sex while milking cows) to full crisis, as Tom loses his best friend. Tom’s frustration boils over in a beautifully played, but visually understated, dramatic climax, as Tom demands answers from his God. These scenes give a good sense of the brilliantly cool and lonely feel of Ian Baker’s cinematography for this film.
Paul Byrnes, curator
have teachers’ notes.
