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Doing Time for Patsy Cline (1997)

Doing Time for Patsy Cline (1997), directed by Chris Kennedy, starring Matt Day and Richard Roxburgh.

09/25/1997 BR Comedy 1h 35m

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Synopsis

Following a passion for country music, Ralph leaves his father’s sheep farm in a remote Australian town, armed with a guitar and a plane ticket to Nashville, Tennessee. He hopes to hitchhike to Sydney Airport where his take-off into a successful country/western singing career will hopefully begin. However, fate and his naivety find him hitchhiking with a psychotic drug thief named Boyd, and Boyd's mesmerising girlfriend, Patsy. The plot then splits into a series of parallels, flash forwards and flashbacks. One depicts Ralph’s imprisonment after being framed for drug trafficking. The other follows the dramatic ascent of his career to hype status and the pairing between the dynamic Patsy and himself.

  • Andrew LesnieCinematography
  • Chris KennedyDirector, Producer, Writer
  • Ken SallowsEditing
  • John WinterProducer

About the film

Doing Time for Patsy Cline is a 1997 Australian film starring Miranda Otto, Richard Roxburgh, and Matt Day, and directed by Chris Kennedy.

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Doing Time for Patsy Cline is a 1997 Australian film starring Miranda Otto, Richard Roxburgh, and Matt Day, and directed by Chris Kennedy.

Plot

Following a passion for country music, Ralph leaves his father's sheep farm in a remote Australian town, armed with a guitar and a plane ticket to Nashville, Tennessee. He hopes to hitchhike to Sydney Airport where his take-off into a successful country/western singing career will hopefully begin.

However, fate and his naivety find him hitchhiking with a psychotic drug thief named Boyd, and Boyd's mesmerising girlfriend, Patsy. The plot then splits into a series of parallels, flash forwards and flashbacks. One depicts Ralph's imprisonment after being framed for drug trafficking. The other follows the dramatic ascent of his career to hype status and the pairing between the dynamic Patsy and himself. Both paths eventually lead him home, with Ralph consequently being more mature and adjusted, and with a bag full of experiences.

Cast

Reception

Box office

Doing Time for Patsy Cline grossed $671,639 at the box office in Australia, which is equivalent to £710,760.53 or US$940,295, in 2009.

Reviews

The film received generally positive reviews. The New York Times criticized the film's editing and "jarring leaps in time", but praised the film's performances, especially that of Roxburgh.

Awards

The film received many award nominations including ten AFI Award nominations for 1997. It won an Australian Writer's Guild Award for Best Original Screenplay. The film won four Australian Film Institute Awards including Best Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Original Music Score, and Best Costume Design. It also won an award of distinction for production design. It won three Australian Film Critics' Awards, including Best Actor, Best Musical Score and Best Cinematography. It also won a San Diego Film Festival Award for Best Original Script and a Melbourne International Film Festival Award for Most Popular Australian Film.

See also

Patsy Cline

References

External links

Official website

Doing Time for Patsy Cline at IMDb

Doing Time for Patsy Cline at Oz Movies

Doing Time for Patsy Cline at Rotten Tomatoes

Doing Time for Patsy Cline at Metacritic

Doing Time for Patsy Cline at Box Office Mojo

Doing Time for Patsy Cline at the Oz Film Database

Doing Time for Patsy Cline at The New York Times

Text from Doing Time for Patsy Cline on Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doing_Time_for_Patsy_Cline

Trivia

Production

More about this film

Awards

  • AACTA Award for Best Cinematography 1997
  • AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role 1997
  • AACTA Award for Best Costume Design 1997
  • AACTA Award for Best Original Music Score 1997

Nominations

  • AACTA Award for Best Film 1997
  • AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role 1997
  • AACTA Award for Best Cinematography 1997
  • AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role 1997
  • AACTA Award for Best Costume Design 1997
  • AACTA Award for Best Direction 1997
  • AACTA Award for Best Original Screenplay 1997
  • AACTA Award for Best Original Music Score 1997
  • AACTA Award for Best Production Design 1997
  • AACTA Award for Best Sound 1997

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What is Doing Time for Patsy Cline about?

Doing Time for Patsy Cline: Following a passion for country music, Ralph leaves his father’s sheep farm in a remote Australian town, armed with a guitar and a plane ticket to Nashville, Tennessee. He hopes to hitchhike to Sydney Airport where his take-off into a successful country/western singing career will hopefully begin. However, fate and hi…

Who directed Doing Time for Patsy Cline?

Doing Time for Patsy Cline was directed by Chris Kennedy in 1997.

Who stars in Doing Time for Patsy Cline?

The cast of Doing Time for Patsy Cline includes Matt Day, Richard Roxburgh, Miranda Otto, Roy Billing and Tony Barry.

How long is Doing Time for Patsy Cline?

Doing Time for Patsy Cline runs for 95 minutes, or 1h35.

What awards did Doing Time for Patsy Cline win?

Doing Time for Patsy Cline has 4 recorded awards, among them AACTA Award for Best Cinematography, AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, AACTA Award for Best Costume Design and AACTA Award for Best Original Music Score.

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Page updated on 09/13/2026.

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Scene from Doing Time for Patsy Cline