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| Kate Winslet stars in The Dressmaker |
She's Back, You Bastards
Rotten Tomatoes Plot: Based on the best-selling novel by Rosalie Ham, this bittersweet, comedy-drama is set in early 1950s Australia. Tilly Dunnage (Kate Winslet) a beautiful and talented misfit, after many years working as a dressmaker in exclusive Parisian fashion houses, returns home to the tiny middle-of-nowhere town of Dungatar to right the wrongs of the past. Not only does she reconcile with her ailing, eccentric mother Molly (Judy Davis) and unexpectedly falls in love with the pure-hearted Teddy (Liam Hemsworth) but armed with her sewing machine and incredible sense of style, she transforms the women of the town and in so doing gets sweet revenge on those who did her wrong. Directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse.
Winslet channels her inner Clint Eastwood in the Aussie smash The Dressmaker. Moorhouse labeled it, "Unforgiven with a sewing machine," and there's no shortage of Western parallels throughout. Trouble is, Winslet's character is wildly inconsistent. One minute, she's a feisty femme fatale... the next, a giant ball of insecurity. Davis meanwhile, is delightfully consistent (and dark) as mom Molly. Perhaps even Oscar nom-worthy. There's a lot going on; but how often do you get to see a police Sergeant (Hugo Weaving no-less) bribed with a feather boa? Daring, original and well-acted, The Dressmaker's worth a look (despite its odd conclusion.)
Grade: B-
