Never Tell Me Never (1998) (TV)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

David Elfick

Writers:

John Cundill (screenplay)
Janine Shepherd (book)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Plot Keywords:

Based On Book

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Claudia Karvan	...	Janine Shepherd
Michael Caton	...	Max Shepherd
Diane Craig	...	Shirley Shepherd
John Howard	...	Uncle Darryl
Paul Bishop	...	Scott
Malcolm Kennard	...	Tim Blake
Robert Mammone	...	Dr Adrian Cohen
Joel Edgerton	...	Pab
Justine Clarke	...	Anna
Mouche Phillips	...	Meredith
Simon Cutter	...	Dr. Guildford
William Upjohn	...	ICU Registrar
Gosia Dobrowolska	...	Nurse Anne
Ursula Brooks	...	Nurse Jane
Robert Alexander	...	Dr John Stephen

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Company:

Golden Square Pictures

Quotes:

Nancy: Make sure he keeps his skis on.

From competition cross-country skiing in the Snowies to acrobatic skylarks over Queensland

Based on true events this film shows us Janine Shepherd's fight back after being partially paralysed in a car accident. Her dream was to compete in the winter games in Calgary, but such aspiration was shattered; she lies in her hospital bed knowing she will never ski again and will never have children. But Australian women have guts: she manages to walk again and even learns to fly light planes, and of course there is a very happy ending. Simple enough story accompanied by correct music score and good photography. What does stick in the mind is Claudia Karvan's performance; quite memorable; it is, without a doubt, the strong point of the whole telefilm, and as such makes it a worthwhile couple of hours. I was pleased to see a bit of the Snowy Mountains, but even more so when Robertson, south west of Wollongong, near the famed Kangaroo Valley, came up on the screen, and there was just a brief glimpse of Botany Bay with a giant aircraft taking off from Kingsford Smith Airport. Apart from that, David Elfick seemed content to imitate the standard telefilm formulas set down by the USA, who are the past masters of such things, so that you cannot help thinking that besides being a vehicle to throw Ms. Karvan into the foreground, there is not much to mention - except that the main secondary actors carried out their performances pretty well. Six out of ten, though Ms. Karvan is worth at least 7 ½.