Made In Dagenham: DVD Review

Made In Dagenham: DVD Review

Made In Dagenham
Rating: M
Released by Universal

From the director of Calendar Girls comes a new UK film with a cast that reads like a Who's Who of Brit talent.

It's 1960s Britain, where Ford is at the height of its power - pumping out thousands of cars daily to the world.

But in the town of Dagenham, where one of the company's major plants is housed, trouble's a-brewing.

Well, specifically, in the machinist section of the plant populated by some 187 women, who are downgraded to a lower unskilled band and not happy - and in one of them, shy and quiet Rita O'Grady (a wonderful Sally Hawkins) they find the voice to complain to the management at Head Office.

It's fair to say that Made in Dagenham is crowd pleasing in the extreme; with the usual kind of humour that pioneered the mold with The Full Monty, this Brit flick sings in terms of soundtrack, dry humorous moments and some great performances.

Every actor turns in solid performances - but it's Sally Hawkins who really impresses in this role of the mousey, put upon Rita whose voice rises up when it's most needed. She's the emotional centre of the film and she succeeds because she's never showy and immensely watchable.

Sure, it's predictable in places - and you can see where the cracks will come dramatically (which may irritate the purists who feel that it's UK film making by numbers in terms of script, jokes and direction) but if the formula ain't broke, then I guess you don't need to fix it.

Extras: Commentary with director, deleted scenes, outtakes, doco and trailer - a reasonable bunch

Rating: 6/10