‘The Dressmaker’

Adapted from Rosalie Ham’s very funny novel of the same name, The Dressmaker is hugely entertaining and quintessentially Australian – in spite of the lead played by Brit, Kate Winslet.

Tilly Dunnage returns to small town regional Australia to wreak revenge on its inhabitants. Bitter memories motivate Tilly as she looks to support her mother, Mad Molly. With extensive experience in the fashion houses of Paris and Milan, she finds herself much in demand as the town becomes the best dressed. But Tilly is silently plotting.

The 1950s outback is perfectly created, the frocks are glorious (as is Winslet’s command of the local accent), Liam Hemsworth (The Hunger Games) provides the beefcake – and Judy Davis as Mad Molly steals the show.

There’s comedy, pathos, tragedy and romance all rolled into one unabashedly entertaining feature.

Rating : 74%

Director: Jocelyn Moorhouse (Proof, How to Make an American Quilt)

Writer: Jocelyn Moorhouse (Proof, Unconditional Love), P.J. Hogan (Muriel’s Wedding, Mental) – based on the novel by Rosalie Ham

Main cast: Kate Winslet (The Reader, Titanic), Liam Hemsworth (The Hunger Games, Triangle), Judy Davis (A Passage to India, To Rome With Love)