Review of Made in Dagenham (2010) by Manny C — 28 Jan 2011

Sally Hawkins is sumptuously irresistible in this wonderful little British drama that raises a glass to women in the workforce. Sure, one can call Made in Dagenham Norma Rae with Brit accents, but that dismissal misses that larger point that the film has a real, genuine heart in telling the true story of a 1968 strike among female employees seeking equal pay at a Ford Motor plant in Dagenham, England. Director Nigel Cole (Calender Girls) crafts a vibrant sense of time and place out of William Ivory's script, even when things take a turn for the overtly familiar.

Hawkins (the wildly incredible star of Mike Leigh's Happy-Go-Lucky) is Rita O'Grady, wife and mother who turns into the unlikely voice for the women car upholsterers she works with. They're sick of being thought of as nothing more than 'unskilled' laborers. Rita's union man (the great Bob Hoskins) encourages her to boldly take on the suits, and so she does, and finds her inner warrior woman. A strike comes next, with raises tensions between her and her husband (Daniel Mays, superb), but Rita's quest for gender equality strengthens her bond with other women, such as Lisa Hopkins (Rosamund Pike, a most underrated actress), a Cambridge-educated wife married to a sexist. Rita and her firebrand companions are eventually granted a meeting with Barbara Castle (Miranda Richardson, a sensation), a government minister, and further progress is made. Ultimately, Made in Dagenham is a most charming feel-good movie that will leave you in good spirits and possibly beaming afterwards.