Samson and Delilah

Samson Rowan McNamara and Delilah Marissa Gibson are fourteen-year-olds living in an Aboriginal community near Alice Springs in Central Australia. Samson is a mute boy who sleeps in a run-down shelter and is deeply addicted to petrol sniffing, while his elder brother’s ska band practices outside his bedroom, keeping him awake and restless. Delilah cares for her frail grandmother, Nana Mitjili Napanangka Gibson, taking her to clinic appointments and managing her medications. The two young people, bonded by circumstance, also collaborate with Nana to create dot paintings that they sell to an art broker for modest sums, a small source of income in a tough, limited world.

Samson becomes infatuated with Delilah and awkwardly seeks her attention, but Delilah remains distant despite her grandmother’s mocking encouragement. He spends a day trailing her, even attempting to move in with her uninvited. When Delilah’s grandmother dies in the night, the family blames Delilah and thrashes her with sticks, a brutal moment that shatters the fragile balance in their lives. In a fit of rage, Samson strikes his brother with a log in a misguided attempt to silence him and his band, but the brother fights back, leaving Samson battered and shaken.

Desperation drives them to escape their circumstances. Samson steals the community’s car and takes Delilah to Alice Springs, where they live rough under a bridge over the dry Todd River. There, a chronic alcoholic homeless man known as Gonzo takes them in and offers them a place to stay. Delilah soon becomes aware that her art could fetch real money: her paintings appear in a gallery for thousands of dollars each. When she tries to sell her work herself, she is rebuffed by both the gallery owner and much of the public, dampening her hopes and underscoring the barriers she faces as a young Indigenous artist.

Meanwhile, Samson’s petrol-sniffing habit intensifies. At one point, he is so intoxicated that he fails to notice when Delilah is kidnapped by a group of white teenagers in a car; she is raped and beaten, and she eventually finds her way back to Samson, though he is too intoxicated to notice her return. The trauma pushes Delilah toward petrol sniffing herself, deepening the spiral of their shared struggle.

One day, while they wander the streets inebriated, Delilah is struck by a car. When Samson finally sobers and realizes what has happened, he believes she is dead and shaves his hair in mourning as a visible mark of his grief. He retreats to the bridge and remains there for weeks, lost in sorrow and still wrestling with his addiction. Delilah survives the hospital stay and returns with Samson’s brother to rescue him, guiding them back to their community. Upon arrival, an elder woman assaults Samson for stealing the community’s only car.

To help Samson break free from petrol addiction, Delilah takes him to a secluded area for rehabilitation. Over time, she helps him rediscover his former self, and a moment of joy arrives when Samson hears his brother’s ska music playing on the local radio, signaling a fragile but hopeful turn toward restoration and belonging.

Last Updated: December 04, 2025 at 15:33