AllMovie

An impassioned American drama teacher in Sydney uses Shakespeare to show a troubled Aboriginal student that his options aren't as limited as they appear in this inspirational drama starring Christina Ricci. Dino Chalmers (Ricci) is a devoted educator who believes that the works of Shakespeare are as relevant today as they were when he was still alive and turning out his best work. When Dino is offered the opportunity to work at an inner-city school in Sidney, she becomes determined to show the at-risk students that there is more to life than their squalid surroundings suggest. In time, Dino forges a friendly bond with 16-year-old Liam, a student from the rough-and-tumble Sydney suburb of Redfern. Meanwhile, the simmering tensions between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians begin to boil over, prompting the idealistic teacher to realize that steering her young student down the right path may be more difficult than she anticipated.