The Dressmaker
Short description
In 1950s rural Australia, Tilly Dunnage returns to Dungatar, the small town she left as a child after being accused of a killing. Years spent working in European fashion houses have made her a skilled dressmaker, and she comes home with her sewing machine and a plan. She moves back in with her mother, Molly, whose health and reputation have suffered in her daughter's absence, and sets about making clothes for the local women. Their response to her designs gradually shifts how the town sees her, though not everyone is won over. A romance develops with Teddy McSwiney, a man she knew as a child. Comedy, drama and western elements mix in a story about a community, old grievances and the cost of a reputation.
Jocelyn Moorhouse directed and co-wrote the screenplay with P.J. Hogan. It was her fourth feature, arriving after How to Make an American Quilt and followed years later by The Fabulous Four. Kate Winslet plays Tilly, with Judy Davis as Molly, Liam Hemsworth as Teddy, Hugo Weaving as Sergeant Farrat and Caroline Goodall as Elsbeth Beaumont, among a credited cast of forty.
Made on a budget of about 17 million US dollars, the film took roughly 23 million worldwide. On IMDb it holds 7 out of 10 from around 71,000 votes, and on TMDB 7 out of 10 from about 1,800 votes. The film critics' rating is 5.9 out of 10 from 141 reviews, lower than the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film is based on the novel of the same name by Australian author Rosalie Ham.
- Kate Winslet and Judy Davis struggled to suppress laughter while filming the scene where Liam Hemsworth undresses to have his measurements taken.
- Kate Winslet specifically learned to sew in order to play her role as authentically as possible. After that, she even helped Margot Wilson choose costumes for her character. Wilson was specially invited as a costume designer for the character played by Winslet.
- Production designer Roger Ford wanted to film in a typical town in western Australia, but since none of those available in Victoria suited him, the town of Dungatar had to be built by the set decorators.
- Kate Winslet was expecting a child with her husband Ned Rocknroll, and filming had to be postponed for a year.
- The red dress and coat of Kate Winslet's character are made from silk moiré purchased in Milan 25 years before filming began.
- The pre-production period for the film lasted 13 years.
- 179,300 mice were used in the grain silo scene.
- Director Jocelyn Moorhouse described the film as "Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood, 1992) with a sewing machine."
- From time to time, wild emus would run onto the set, and filming had to be interrupted.
- The wedding dress that her character wears as the plot develops became actress Sarah Snook's favorite costume.
- The number of deaths in the film: 5.
- The main character uses a Singer model 201K2 sewing machine. These machines were very durable, but expensive, costing the equivalent of a working woman's six-month salary. Professional seamstresses and tailors still consider Singer machines the best in the world.
- The film received a standing ovation from the audience at its premiere at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto during the 2015 international film festival. Roy Thomson Hall, which opened in 1982, seats almost 2400 spectators.
- Kate Winslet used the same dialect coach who worked with her on her Australian accent for Jane Campion’s drama “Holy Smoke” (1999). After filming, only one scene with her participation had to be redubbed. In the scene where she filmed with New Zealand actress Kerry Fox, Winslet suddenly began to speak like Fox. “I just have trouble with accents,” the actress confessed later.
- This is the second film in Hugo Weaving's acting career where he plays a cross-dresser living in the Australian outback. In 1994, Stephan Elliott's "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" was released, with Weaving playing a drag performer.
- The film begins with the arrival of Kate Winslet's character in Dungatar, but director Jocelyn Moorhouse intended to tell a backstory. Kate dissuaded her from this idea, as she liked the ambiguous opening scene of the film and her line, "Well, bastards. I'm back."
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