Schwartz, M: One Split Second

One Split Second opens with the sudden and violent death of cricket legend David Hookes outside a Melbourne bayside hotel, late one night in January 2004. From there, it surveys all that flowed from that fateful event - the sometimes hysterical reaction of the public and the popular media, and the reaction of friends and family of the two protagonists, Hookes and the man charged with responsibility for his death, Zdravko Micevic. It looks at the 'celebrity-event' funeral at the Adelaide Oval (MCed by the ubiquitous Eddie McGuire), the police investigation of the death, the alcohol-fuelled customs of our elite cricketers - and perhaps of Australia's sporting culture - and the trial and exoneration of Micevic. It explores the collision of two worlds: that of a favourite Aussie son - and its attendant fame, celebrity and influence - and that of an outsider to the system. In examining these events, One Split Second reveals a lot about Australian society today.