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Friday, November 19, 2010
MOVIE REVIEW
Made In Dagenham
Standing Up And Being Counted In 1960s East London
Bob Hoskins as Arthur, Sally Hawkins as Rita and Geraldine James as Connie in
"Made In Dagenham".
Sony Pictures Classics
by
Omar P.L. Moore/PopcornReel.com
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Friday,
November 19, 2010
Nigel Cole chronicles the real-life trials and tribulations of a group of East
London textile factory workers for Ford Motors in 1968 in "Made In Dagenham", a
well-acted comedy-drama. The film opened today in select U.S. cities.
Sally Hawkins top-lines a wonderfully talented ensemble cast in a true story
about a group of women industrial workers in Dagenham going on strike to achieve
the same pay as men. Mr. Cole directs this engaging story and the serious
issues of sexism and classism that it presents are secreted and heightened in
what is often a funny film.
"Made In Dagenham" portrays its at least one of its men as duplicitous, others
as allies, and others still as ambivalent sideline watchers. The film
faithfully explores what happens when group opportunism and self-interests
collide. Mr. Cole and company also have a strong sense of the time, as the
women's' liberation movement was emerging in England and the textile workers'
strike came roughly 16 years before the overwhelmingly male strike in
northeastern England by the National Union of Mineworkers, led by Arthur
Scargill.
The film presents a solid sense of sisterhood and camaraderie, and is richly
entertaining. Ms. Hawkins, memorable in Mike Leigh's "Happy-Go-Lucky", is
more expressive and stirring here as Rita, an unlikely stalwart in the battle
for equality. Her genteel but resolute performance will likely make some
of the most sexist, indifferent and uninformed male moviegoers root for the
cause Rita and her colleagues fight for. Geraldine James lends enormous
dignity to Connie, arguably the most interesting character in Mr. Cole's film, a
loveable crowd-pleaser punctuated by great music, including Desmond Dekker's
classic reggae hit song "You Can Get It If You Really Want".
Also noteworthy is Bob Hoskins as -- perhaps appropriately -- Arthur (given Mr.
Scargill's leadership in the NUM a decade or so later), the lone male warrior at
the Ford Dagenham plant leading the ladies into battle. Arthur is like a
British Charlie to his aggrieved Anglo Angels, and via Mr. Hoskins is sublime in
a cheeky yet restrained manner. Arthur is the temperature of Mr. Cole's
film: cautious, then percolating to beyond lukewarm before the expected
euphoria. Rosamund Pike ("An Education")
is also very good as a woman caught squarely in the middle of a significant turf
war. She lends nuance, authenticity and a plain-spoken intellectual
demeanor to her character, giving the film an additional dimension and
likability. Ms. Pike's Lisa is intriguing.
"Made In Dagenham" is a feel-good display of woman power and certitude that will
have you standing, cheering and applauding.
With: Miranda Richardson, Daniel Mays, Jaime Winstone, Rupert Graves, Lorraine
Stanley, Nicola Duffett, Richard Schiff, Andrea Riseborough, Matt King, John
Sessions, Andrew Lincoln, Frank Baker, Marcus Hutton, Philip Perry, Matilda
Cole, Kenneth Cranham, Gina Bramhill, Roger Lloyd-Pack.
"Made In Dagenham"
is rated R by the Motion Picture
Association Of America for language and brief sexuality. The film's
running time is one hour and 53 minutes.
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