Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line
| Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Paul Clarke |
| Written by | Paul Clarke |
| Produced by | Carolina Sorensen |
| Cinematography | Kevin Scott |
| Edited by | Gretchen Peterson |
Release date |
|
Running time | 105 minutes |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line is a 2024 Australian documentary written and directed by Paul Clarke. It explores the career of the rock band Midnight Oil.[1]
Reception
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 100% based on 7 reviews.[2]
Stephen Romei of the Australian gave it 3 stars and wrote "At times this authorised documentary, in which all the band members are interviewed, tips towards hagiography."[3] The Sydney Morning Herald's Sandra Hall gave it 4 stars.[4] The Herald Sun's Leigh Paatsch gave it 4 stars. He finishes "Overall, The Hardest Line crafts a fitting tribute to one of the great Australian cultural warriors of all-time, a bloody-minded bunch who stood their ground, made their noise and made a difference."[5] John McDonald of the Australian Financial Review notes "Clarke’s documentary is largely a celebration of the Oils. It reveals a few rocky patches, but never ventures a word of criticism."[1] The Canberra Times' Glen Humphries says it is "a really impressive documentary that manages to compress the band's 40-odd year career into 100 minutes."[6]
Awards
- 14th AACTA Awards
- Best Editing in a Documentary - Gretchen Peterson - won[7]
- Best Sound in a Documentary - Wayne Pashley, Travis Handley, Stephen Hopes, Jason King - nominated[8]
- Best Documentary - Paul Clarke, Carolina Sorensen, Mikael Borglund, Martin Fabinyi - nominated[8]
References
- ^ a b McDonald, John (15 June 2024), "Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line", Australian Financial Review
- ^ "Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
- ^ Romei, Stephen (3 July 2024), "The Hardest Line goes soft on Midnight Oil's politics", The Australian
- ^ Hall, Sandra (3 July 2024), "The Hardest Line: The story of Midnight Oil", The Sydney Morning Herald
- ^ Paatsch, Leigh (26 June 2024), "Why the world bought into power, passion and political values of Midnight Oil", The Herald Sun
- ^ Humphries, Glen (2 November 2024), "Midnight Oil gets the doco they deserve", The Canberra Times
- ^ Slatter, Sean (5 February 2025), "'Boy Swallows Universe' snaps up six AACTA Industry Awards as 'Better Man', 'Furiosa' take home five each", If
- ^ a b "The Australian Academy reveals 2025 AACTA Award nominees a celebration of Australian screen excellence", FilmInk