Share
Clip description
Michael (Kelton Pell) comes to see Rick (Kieran Darcy-Smith) about his wages. Rick tells him he can’t afford to pay and if he did pay, Michael would have to pay rent on his house and buy his own food. Michael is shocked when Rick says he’d have to ‘let you go’ if Michael insists on payment. That would mean Michael and his family would have to leave the property and move to town.
Curator’s notes
An excruciating scene, played with absolute sincerity by both actors. Rick and Michael have known each other since boyhood, as Rick acknowledges. Michael’s family roots are in the same soil, even though the blacks no longer ‘own’ the land. Michael knows he has right on his side but he could end up without a job or a home because of the new laws. He has been granted the freedom to become destitute. Both men are caught between divided loyalties – friendship on the one hand and the need to provide for a family on the other. Both performances are superbly emotional, and not at all reliant on dialogue.
