Ladies in Black
(2018)Oscar-nominated director Bruce Beresford (Driving Miss Daisy) adapts Madeleine St John's best-selling coming-of-age novel set in Sydney in 1959.... More
Set in the summer, where the impact of European migration and the rise of women’s liberation is about to change Australia forever, a shy schoolgirl takes a summer job at the prestigious Sydney department store, Goode’s. There she meets the “ladies in black”, who will change her life forever.
Beguiled and influenced by Magda, the vivacious manager of the high-fashion floor, and befriended by fellow sales ladies Patty and Fay, Lisa is awakened to a world of possibilities. As Lisa grows from a bookish schoolgirl to a glamorous and positive young woman, she herself becomes a catalyst for a cultural change in everyone’s lives.Hide
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Directed by Bruce Beresford ('Driving Miss Daisy', 'Breaker Morant', 'Mao's Last Dancer')
Starring Julia Ormond, Angourie Rice, Rachael Taylor, Ryan Corr, Vincent Perez, Alison McGirr, Susie Porter, Shane Jacobson, Noni Hazlehurst
Written by Bruce Beresford, Sue Milliken (based on the novel 'The Women in Black' by Madeleine St John)
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Ladies in Black
The Press Reviews
Ladies in Black quietly but effectively points out the seldom-stressed positives of immigration and integration, and thus deserves attention far beyond its own native shores. Full Review
...not so much a journey to be taken as an experience to luxuriate in... Full Review
Fans of British dramas like Mr Selfridge will lap up this 1950-set tale. Full Review
Beresford gives the material the warm, light, heartfelt embrace that it demands - and while the mid-section drags, the end result remains buoyant. Full Review
The characters behave as though they are stuck in some kind of handsome display case. The filmmakers fail to bring them to life. Full Review
This is a deftly assembled and rigorously paced showcase for some truly excellent comic writing and performances. Full Review
From our vantage point 60 years on, Ladies in Black offers a vision - idealised, but perhaps not wholly false - of a moment when it was possible to welcome newcomers to the country and the unfamiliar ideas they brought with them. Full Review
BY Sarah Voon Flicks Writer
Some elegant and accomplished production and costume design, by Felicity Abbott and Wendy Cork respectively, elevate this lighthearted film translation of the best-selling novel The Women in Black by Madeleine St John. Ladies in Black presents an evocative snapshot of Sydney in the summer of 1959, as we follow the lives of a group of women who work on the fashion floor of smart department store F.G. Goodes.... More
Suburban bookworm Lesley (Angourie Rice) aspires to go to university, rare for a young woman in that era, especially if you have to convince your conventional, working class dad—beer-swilling, horse race loving Mr Miles (Shane Jacobson)—to give you permission. Awaiting scholarship results, she starts a summer job on the fashion floor at Goodes, renaming herself Lisa, and is soon taken under the wing of the formidable Slovenian businesswoman and head of the Model Gowns department, Magda, played by a tongue-in-cheek Julia Ormond. Touching on the fledgling cultural awakening happening in late 1950s Australia, Lisa is introduced to “Reffo” (refugee) Magda’s “continental” friends and European way of life, and as her eyes are opened to the possibilities, she finds herself dreaming up a future different to the one commonly expected then.
Rice does a great job of the wide eyed ingenue with drive and determination. At first alienated by her naivety, she eventually ingratiates herself with her strong work ethic and natural curiosity, developing friendships with the other shop girls Fay (Rachael Taylor) and Patty (Alison McGirr). They both alternate big sister roles, with managing their own problems—namely to do with men and love. Susie Porter plays Lesley/Lisa’s kind and quietly supportive Mum, a woman who is clearly the hardworking backbone of the household.
As far as adaptations go, this follows the original story pretty closely, and with the book already tending to stay away from anything too deep or juicy in its observations, the provident translation to screen by writer/director Bruce Beresford, further waters it down, resulting in a film that is a little low on substance but pleasing to the eye.Hide
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