How far can excellent costume design carry a film? A long way, it turns out. Kate Winslet stars as a dressmaker in the 50s, returning to her childhood village in the Australian outback. Secrets from the past are revealed as she uncovers the truth behind a murder she allegedly committed as a child.

Along the way she gets to wear outstanding outfits, as well as make some for the whole town. The high-fashion costumes clash wonderfully with the barren backdrop of the Australian wilderness and the bucolic village sat in the midst of it.

Winslet is good in the role, she manages to nail down the accent without making it the central part of her performance. It’s a well written part, which helps; part fish out of water, part daughter-coming-home, her character always has a sense of mystery yet opens up when it counts.

The story and structure is a mess however. At various moments you wouldn’t be forgiven if you’d thought the film had ended. The tone and even the genre pivot a couple of times, and it can be jarring. It’s particularly frustrating when things start to get boring.

Without going into spoilers, I might also question the order in which certain events unfold; something about the pacing and timing of the major plot points is way off.

It’s a funny film though and the sense of humour chops and changes between warm, gentle moments between characters, physical comedy and black-as-night gags. The drama hits too hard for this to be an out-and-out comedy but The Dressmaker is definitely good for a laugh or two.

This is an odd film. Some very poor decisions were made as to how it was put together, but the great lead performances, outstanding costumes and beautiful direction all make it worth your while. Not a must see, but a solid piece of work nonetheless.

http://benoliver999.com/film/2016/03/05/thedressmaker/

> Home is where the vengeance is.

A stylish Aussie revenge-comedy that is adapted from a novel of the same name. Just superbly built screenplay on a tragedy that occurred some time back, but the movie reveals it only in the third act. About a woman who arrives in a small town where she was born and slowly gains popularity among the young women who seeks her stunning costumes to impress their counterparts. The town divides over her return, but why all the hate is the mystery that the movie going to solve for us in its entire narration.

The location and the settings were fantastic and it brought a western feel because of the Australians hot and humid weather. Kate Winslate was very good, her role simply reminded me Juliette Binoche from 'Chocolat'. I have heard people saying it was emotional, but I did not find it like that. Instead, I had fun watching it, not like I had the open laughs, but felt joy and satisfaction for the time I spent for it. My initial thought was it could be overrated, but after watching it proved I was wrong. This is one of the best Aussie movie I have seen in the recent years.

8/10

Utterly superb! I wasn't expecting such greatness.

'The Dressmaker', to put it bluntly, is quality! It has a pulse and then some, I love the feel of the film throughout - with all its quirkiness, silliness and straight up brilliantness. It all starts off very strongly, though I did then feel a (very minor) plateau. However, to my surprise, it shoots straight back up as it culminates with a super ending.

Kate Winslet is top notch from beginning to end with an excellent performance, though isn't alone as the support cast all give very good performances - from Judy Davis to Hugo Weaving. I also note Liam Hemsworth, Alison Whyte and, at a certain point, Geneviève Lemon.

What a great film, full of twists n turns and it has a fantastic score. Loved it!