Trial Run (1984 film) explained

Trial Run
Director:	Melanie Read
Producer:	Don Reynolds
Screenplay:	Melanie Read
Starring:	Annie Whittle
Cinematography:	Allen Guilford
Editing:	Finola Dwyer
Studio:	Double Feature Investments Cinema and Television Productions
Distributors:	-->
Runtime:	90 minutes
Country:	New Zealand

Trial Run is a 1984 New Zealand film directed by Melanie Read starring Annie Whittle.^[1] The film is a feminist revision of the thriller genre.^{[2] [3]}

Plot summary

Rosemary Edmonds, a photographer and runner, must temporarily leave her husband and two children when she moves into a remote coastal cottage to carry out an assignment to photograph a colony of rare penguins. It soon becomes apparent that she is being stalked in the cottage by an unknown tormentor. In a twist ending, the "stalker" is revealed to be Rosemary's own teenage son.^[4]

Production

Trial Run was the first New Zealand feature film to be written and directed by a woman, and had a largely female cast and crew.^{[5] [6]} Marathon runner Allison Roe and reporter Karen Sims appear briefly as themselves in a television interview seen early in the film.

Reception

The film received mixed reviews. In New Zealand, The Press described it as "enjoyable and satisfying in its small way",^[7] while felt the film suffered from a "rather sketchy script".^[8] In the UK, critic F. Maurice Speed called it a "fascinating and cleverly worked thriller";^[9] Leslie Halliwell and John Elliot found the film generated some suspense but criticised its surprise ending as weak;^{[10] [11]} while Time Out and The Guardian found the final revelation of the culprit's motives to be "preposterous" and "verging on the incomprehensible".^{[12] [13]}

Several film historians have compared Trial Run to Gaylene Preston's Mr. Wrong (1985), another New Zealand thriller with feminist themes.^{[14] [15]}

External links

• • • Trial Run at NZ On Screen

Notes and References

1. Book: Martin . Helen . Edwards . Sam . New Zealand film, 1912-1996 . Auckland ; Melbourne ; Oxford :Oxford University Press. 0-19-558336-1 . 13 January 2023 . 1997.
2. Jocelyn Robson Girls' Own Stories: Australian and New Zealand Women's Films 1997 ... and we are not given the images of vicious bloody attack or of unrestrained violence against the female body. Our 'victim' is a strong woman who despite intimidation, violence and threats survives a life-endangering situation and stands firm and physically undamaged finally to confront her tormentor. There is therefore a deliberate mismatch between certain aspects of the Hollywood psychological thriller and the film Trial Run. In making the strong woman both victim and protagonist, ...
3. Jonathan Dennis, Jan Bieringa - Film in Aotearoa New Zealand 1992 Read's feature film Trial Run (1984), a feminist revision of the thriller genre, included vivid and somewhat enigmatic dream scenes.
4. Book: Babington . Bruce . A History of the New Zealand Fiction Feature Film . 2007 . Manchester University Press . 9780719075421 . 172–174 . registration.
5. Book: Schneider . Steven Jay . Williams . Tony . Horror International . 2005 . Wayne State University Press . 978-0-8143-3101-9 . 115 . en.
6. Web site: Trial Run . NZ On Screen . 18 June 2023 . en.
7. News: 'Trial Run' a good trial run . The Press . 19 November 1984 . Christchurch, New Zealand . 6. PapersPast.
8. News: Dart . William . Film: Trial Run . Rip It Up . 1 December 1984 . 36. PapersPast.
9. Book: Speed . F. Maurice . F. Maurice Speed . Film Review 1986-7 . 1986 . Columbus Books . London . 9780862872991 . 113–114 . registration.
10. Book: Halliwell . Leslie . Leslie Halliwell . Halliwell's Film Guide . 1989 . Grafton . 978-0-246-13449-3 . 1050 . 7th . registration.
11. Book: Elliot . John . Elliot's Guide to Films on Video . 1993 . Boxtree . 978-1-85283-405-0 . 864 . registration.
12. Book: Pym . John . Time Out Film Guide . 2011 . Time Out Guides Ltd . 978-1-84670-208-2 . 1110 . 19th . registration.
13. News: Pulleine . Tim . Off-screen Romance . The Guardian . 25 July 1985 . 21. Newspapers.com.
14. Book: Reid . Nicholas . A Decade of New Zealand Film . 1987 . John Mcindoe Ltd . 9780868680873.
15. Book: Cairns . Barbara . Conrich . Ian . Murray . Stuart . New Zealand Filmmakers . 2007 . Wayne State University Press . 9780814330173 . 203 . https://books.google.com/books?id=CPOrdHk0rlcC&pg=PA203 . en . Working in Close-Up.