Tracy Mann plays Sam as a sullen, defiant young woman who is resentful of the hand life has dealt her, but finds it difficult to get the police off her back, and find a job where she is well-treated despite her lack of qualifications. Mann does quite a good job, and even won the AFI Best Actress Award in 1980, for her spirited heartache.
The film is told in flashbacks, which is quite disconcerting as it is not always clear how far back each scene occurs - she is involved in two crimes and caught both times (as well as arrested for drugs the police planted on her), but it is unclear how many times she is sent to the detention centre. Bill Hunter and Max Cullen play the tough cops, ready to beat up suspects or plant false confessions. Though most of the support actors do a good job, some are a bit unconvincing.
Overall, this is a good portrait of the barriers preventing a young teenager trying to reform herself and find a reasonable job. It would have been better if the flashbacks had been more clear, or eliminated altogether.
The film is told in flashbacks, which is quite disconcerting as it is not always clear how far back each scene occurs - she is involved in two crimes and caught both times (as well as arrested for drugs the police planted on her), but it is unclear how many times she is sent to the detention centre. Bill Hunter and Max Cullen play the tough cops, ready to beat up suspects or plant false confessions. Though most of the support actors do a good job, some are a bit unconvincing.
Overall, this is a good portrait of the barriers preventing a young teenager trying to reform herself and find a reasonable job. It would have been better if the flashbacks had been more clear, or eliminated altogether.