Ladies in Black (2018) Reviews

• Ladies in Black, a delightful movie

  lynnecullen-719802018-09-20

  Today mum and I saw Ladies in Black.....when asked what she thought mum said "Delightful", no swearing, no sex, no violence, just a delightful movie........and she was correct. The movie is set in the late 50s in Sydney and tells the story of Lisa who takes a summer job in Goode's department store. We meet all the 'Ladies in Black' and the story unfolds from here. I loved seeing how Sydney looked in the late 50s and loved the fashion and style. They certainly knew how to dress back then and looked fabulous even when having dinner in a restaurant or going to visit friends for a lunch. The young girl played by Angourie Rice was a pleasure to watch on the screen as was Rachael Taylor. I also loved Julia Ormond, Shane Jacobson, Noni Hazlehurst and Susie Porter. Kudos to my friend Margaret Gill who has her name on the credits and did a lot of the sewing for Julia and Angourie's outfits. Well done to you I say! If you are after a nice feel good, easy to watch movie this is the one for you. Mum rated it 8 out of 10, and Im giving it 7

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• Entertaining, heart-warming, and a visual feast of nostalgia.

  CineMuseFilms2018-09-25

  Capturing the swirling currents that shape national culture is a challenge for any film, but the coming-of-ageLadies in Black (2018 )meets this challenge. It is one of the best recent Australian films, compressing into one storyline what Sydney life was like in the late 1950s. Based on Madeleine St. John's1994 novel, the film blends diverse themes like feminism, class and racial difference into a cultural mosaic. The focal point that holds the pieces together is the women's dress section in Sydney's leading department store. Wide-eyed ingénue Lesley (Angourie Rice) wins a summer job while waiting to learn if she can enter university. Her modest background is obvious: her adoring house-bound mother (Susie Porter) dutifully serves her benignly sexist father (Shane Jacobson) who loves his beer and dinner cooked on time. In case we miss the class and feminist themes, he grunts "no daughter of mine will ever go to a university". As in all coming-of-age tales, Lesley's view on the world is profoundly altered by the people she meets. Miss Cartwright (Noni Hazlehurst) is the stern but kind supervisor who sees a better future for girls like Lesley: "there is nothing more wonderful than a girl who is clever" she swoons. Anglo-Saxon homogeneity is shattered by the presence of Serbian 'refo' Magda (Julia Ormond), whose sassy sense of European style helps sell the most expensive dresses. She introduces Lesley to a world of cultural refinement starkly different from what the teenager has known. Other sub-stories include a woman desperate to start a family but whose husband is sexually repressed, and another with a dark past who finds romance with a 'new Australian'. Like any mosaic, the pieces are dwarfed by the overall pattern and purpose they serve. In different directorial hands the sub-stories could easily have been a melange, but instead they form a coherent portrait of Australia's maturing nationhood at the time. The sets, fashion and colour palette are wonderfully evocative of the period, while the scenes of high-street shops, domestic interiors, newspaper production and city tramways are among the most authentic-looking you will find. With an outstanding ensemble cast, the key production values are uniformly top-shelf although the performances of Angourie Rice and Julia Ormond are pivotal. Ladies in Black triumphs in the way it represents our collective memories with emotional connection. As they are the memories of older Australians, overseas audiences or younger people may not recognise them or understand how they shaped modern Australia. Some may even raise eyebrows at the invisibility of Indigenous people, but this was the reality of the times. Despite such considerations, this film is entertaining, heart-warming, and a visual feast of nostalgia.

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• Absolutely delightful. Made my day!

  annegiu2018-09-20

  The casting for this movie was masterful. Shane Jacobson was fabulous as rhe 1950's Aussie dad and Ryan Corr was perfect in his role as the Hungarian "reffo". He owned that character! Julia Ormond played a Slovenian fashion guru to a tee and the sets were marvellous. From the department store in Sydney centre to the flat by the water in Mosman and the suburban, red texture brick house in Granville... spot on. A feel-good movie that has you laughing and reflecting on it for days afterwards.

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• Terrific nostalgic film!

  felix-382018-09-20

  I saw this film at a preview with the director, Bruce Beresford, introducing the film. I didn't know quite what to expect but I was thoroughly entertained for two hours. It harks back to a time before I was born in which Australia was a very different place. The time is 1959 and refugees have come Downunder to make new lives for themselves. The changing times are reflected by a group of department store workers - the titular Ladies in Black. The script is amusing and I laughed out loud several times. Residents of Sydney and Melbourne will especially find amusement - the rivalry is not new! Special mention must go to Julia Ormond's Slovenic refugee Magda who works in Model Gowns - she has all the best lines! But everyone is so good I feel bad singling out the lovely Ms Ormond! I must say it's terrific to see a film with no swearing or violence!

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• Halcyon days of Sydney retail

  carringtonroad2018-09-25

  'Ladies in Black' was a wonderful and nostalgic movie especially when one has lived through those days. I was a teenager working in Sydney in 1959, my mother was a Lady in Black, she worked at Mark Foy's in the lace department for many years. The movie brought back all the memories of those days, Hyde Park, Sydney Harbour, the Blue Mountains, the trams and the new double decker busses. The days when retail shops actually served people, not like today when you have stand in line at a check out. I loved the fashions and the way the social issues of the day were delicately spoken of. Did it really matter if the race horses were not actually of that day it was such a small part of the movie. I think the makers of the film really made a great movie of that time and I take my hat off to all concerned in making of this wonderful film. Well done. J.E.M.

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