IMDb RATING
7.2/10
4.2K
YOUR RATING
When Rex, a Broken Hill cab driver, is told he doesn't have long to live, he sets out on an epic journey to Darwin in a bid to die on his own terms.When Rex, a Broken Hill cab driver, is told he doesn't have long to live, he sets out on an epic journey to Darwin in a bid to die on his own terms.When Rex, a Broken Hill cab driver, is told he doesn't have long to live, he sets out on an epic journey to Darwin in a bid to die on his own terms.
- Awards
- 6 wins & 24 nominations
Ningali Lawford
- Polly
- (as Ningali Lawford-Wolf)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaDuring the time that the Northern Territory had legalised euthanasia, three people died through physician assisted suicide. The first of these was to be Max Bell, a terminally ill cab driver from Broken Hill. Max Bell did drive his cab from Broken Hill to Darwin to complete the procedure, but no specialist doctor would provide the required confirmation. Max returned home to Broken Hill and died "a natural death" in hospital. Bob Dent, a local Darwin man, became the first to die under the new law the following month.
- GoofsAround the 45th min in the bar fridge, you can see the Swedish cider Kopparberg. The film is set in 2005 but Kopparberg didn't arrive in Australian until around 2010.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Gaps Between the Stars: The Story of 'Last Cab to Darwin' (2015)
- SoundtracksIf Not For You
Written by Bob Dylan
© Big Sky Music
Licensed by Sony / ATV Music Publishing Australia.
Performed by Olivia Newton-John
(P) 1971 Festival Records PTY Limited
Licensed Courtesy of Warner Music Australia Pty Ltd
Featured review
All roads lead to Darwin
Scriptwriter Reg Cribb and director Jeremy Simms have taken the true-life story of Max Bell and put a lens on attitudes about the right to die and aspects of Australian society most of us rarely see.
The film, based on Reg Cribb's 2003 stage play, commences in Broken Hill. Rex, a cabbie played by Michael Caton, has a long-standing relationship with Polly his Aboriginal neighbour. Both have somewhat abrasive personalities, but they complement each other perfectly.
When Rex is diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer, he learns that the Northern Territory has legalised euthanasia. He decides to leave and drive his cab to Darwin to have an assisted death rather than face a lingering one in hospital.
Rex's trip to Darwin is not unlike the journey of the three protagonists in "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert", its across roughly the same area and ends up in the same place, but like that earlier film, it's also a journey of discovery. Along the way, Rex becomes involved with a number of people and they change each other's lives.
Although the film alters Max Bell's experience considerably, "Last Cab to Darwin" allows for another journey; the one through the divide in Australian society that started in 1788 when the original inhabitants and the European settlers were thrown together.
The film seems to reinforce certain stereotypes about Indigenous Australians, especially in the role of Tilly (Mark Coles Smith), however in other ways it shows them as more sharing and less obsessed with material possessions. Tilly's character emerges as a complex one, although brash and cocky on the surface, his underlying fears and self doubts are revealed.
The setting for the film is during that brief period in the mid 1990's when euthanasia was legalised in the Northern Territory, but was quickly shut down by federal law. The film doesn't necessarily advocate euthanasia though; both sides of the argument are played out.
Finally, the performances are so real that some scenes are hard to watch. Michael Caton gave us a modern Australian icon with his Darryl Kerrigan in "The Castle", but he surpasses himself here.
The last scene in "Last Cab to Darwin" is a lump in the throat moment. Maybe the film won't have much of a following outside Australia, but its central theme of the right to die with dignity is universal.
The film, based on Reg Cribb's 2003 stage play, commences in Broken Hill. Rex, a cabbie played by Michael Caton, has a long-standing relationship with Polly his Aboriginal neighbour. Both have somewhat abrasive personalities, but they complement each other perfectly.
When Rex is diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer, he learns that the Northern Territory has legalised euthanasia. He decides to leave and drive his cab to Darwin to have an assisted death rather than face a lingering one in hospital.
Rex's trip to Darwin is not unlike the journey of the three protagonists in "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert", its across roughly the same area and ends up in the same place, but like that earlier film, it's also a journey of discovery. Along the way, Rex becomes involved with a number of people and they change each other's lives.
Although the film alters Max Bell's experience considerably, "Last Cab to Darwin" allows for another journey; the one through the divide in Australian society that started in 1788 when the original inhabitants and the European settlers were thrown together.
The film seems to reinforce certain stereotypes about Indigenous Australians, especially in the role of Tilly (Mark Coles Smith), however in other ways it shows them as more sharing and less obsessed with material possessions. Tilly's character emerges as a complex one, although brash and cocky on the surface, his underlying fears and self doubts are revealed.
The setting for the film is during that brief period in the mid 1990's when euthanasia was legalised in the Northern Territory, but was quickly shut down by federal law. The film doesn't necessarily advocate euthanasia though; both sides of the argument are played out.
Finally, the performances are so real that some scenes are hard to watch. Michael Caton gave us a modern Australian icon with his Darryl Kerrigan in "The Castle", but he surpasses himself here.
The last scene in "Last Cab to Darwin" is a lump in the throat moment. Maybe the film won't have much of a following outside Australia, but its central theme of the right to die with dignity is universal.
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- tomsview
- Sep 17, 2016
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Дарвин - конечная остановка
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- A$3,992,880 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $34,193
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $620
- Jun 12, 2016
- Gross worldwide
- $5,945,585
- Runtime2 hours 3 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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