THE DRESSMAKER
Director: Jocelyn Moorhouse
Cast: Kate Winslet, Liam Hemsworth, Hugo Weaving, Sarah Snook, Judy Davis, Caroline Goodall, Kerry Fox, Gyton Grantley, Rebecca Gibney, James Mackay, Shane Jacobson, Shane Bourne, Alison Whyte, Sacha Horler, Barry Otto, Julia Blake, Genevieve Lemon
Rating: (M)
Five stars (out of five)
Now a glamorous adult calling herself Tilly, she has returned to get to the bottom of why the town spurned her.
Her mother Molly (Judy Davis) has become known as the ''mad woman up the hill'' and her memory of what happened is as hazy as Tilly's.
The grotesque townspeople are horrified Tilly has returned, but she makes them overlook her past and soon the womenfolk are tottering around looking like escapees from a Vogue photo shoot.
The Dressmaker (Rialto and Metro) is a hugely enjoyable film where everything is portrayed with broad strokes.
At times, there seems to be too much plot but by the time it winds up to the truly over-the-top last half-hour it has you firmly on side and delighted by all the astonishing ways fate gives Tilly her revenge.
I saw this in a cinema full of women (and five brave men) and at the end people started spontaneously clapping from the satisfaction of seeing the world put to rights in so many unexpected ways.
It might not look it from the promotional poster, but The Dressmaker is an absolute hoot of a film, and you are supposed to hiss at all the villains and cheer on the goodies.
• Christine Powley
