Film Review with Robert Mann – Made in Dagenham

3rd October 2010

Made in Dagenham ***½

Originally intended to be released under the name We Want Sex (something which refers to a slight mishap with a banner that appears in the film, one reading “We Want Sex Equality”), the reasons for changing the name of this film to Made in Dagenham are probably blatantly obvious from a marketing perspective.
After all, the original title could easily have created the wrong impression as to what the film actually is, even if the title was probably better than the new one on so many levels, making much more of an impression than the rather bland title that has replaced it. What is Made in Dagenham, though, you may be wondering, particularly if you haven’t seen the trailer. Well, this film – brought to you by Nigel Cole, best known for the hit British movies Calendar Girls – is a dramatisation of the 1968 strike at the Ford Dagenham Assembly Plant (not the place where the protesters worked but where the protest was held) where female workers walked out in protest against sexual discrimination and the desire for equal pay. This walkout was instrumental in the Equal Pay Act 1970. So, essentially, this film is a portrayal of a key event in British history and one that all the women who enjoy equal rights to men owe their freedoms to. A key event in recent British history for sure but it doesn’t sound like a particularly engrossing film does it? Well, while it is being billed as a ‘dramatisation’, the film is in actual fact a comedy drama based on the events, clearly aiming to be amusing as it is informative and given director Cole’s experience with such British movies in the past (Calendar Girls was also a comedy drama based on true British events) he certainly has all the know how to pull this film off, even if the result isn’t as entertaining as you might expect.

Dagenham 1968 – the staging ground for the first ever industrial strike by women and an event that grew to affect the entire country and eventually led to the advent of the Equal Pay Act. Rita O’Grady (Sally Hawkins) is the catalyst for this change in 1960s Britain. An everyday working woman, doing her job as a machinist at a factory near the Ford Dagenham Assembly Plant during the daytime and the rest of the time looking after her family, including her two children and her husband Eddie (Daniel Mays), she is little more than a passive bystander at first but when Connie (Geraldine James), the factory’s union representative, decides that she can no longer cope with the responsibility whilst also looking after her ill husband George (Roger Lloyd-Pack), Rita finds herself somewhat reluctantly obtaining the position. Tired of working in impoverished conditions and getting payed less than men for despite being just as skilled, and spurred on by fellow worker Albert (Bob Hoskins), Rita unites the girls of the factory – among them Brenda (Andrea Riseborough) and Sandra (Jaime Winstone) – in all out strike not only at their factory but at other factories across the country. Rita even finds help in the form of unlikely ally Lisa Hopkins (Rosamund Pike), who happens to be married to one of Rita’s bosses. With humour and courage they take on their corporate paymasters Peter Hopkins (Rupert Graves) and Robert Tooley (Richard Schiff), an increasingly belligerent local community, and finally the government itself. Rita’s fiery temper and often hilarious unpredictability proves to be a match for any of her male opponents, and is echoed by Secretary of State Barbara Castle’s (Miranda Richardson) struggle in the male-dominated House of Commons.

From a technical standpoint it is hard to find any fault with Made in Dagenham. Its representation of 1968 Britain is totally authentic with every visual detail creating a true to life representation of the period, the fashion styles of the time being captured perfectly in the costume design and hairstyles, locations and sets looking just like they would have at the time, and everything from cars to television sets that feature looking exactly true to the period. The use of real archive footage – prominently at the beginning of the film and in the closing credits of the film, where we get to see the real women who inspired this story – along with real news footage and content from children’s show Sooty on a television in one scene also really help establish the feel of time and place. Of course, the music that features is also a good representation of the period, even though less is made of the soundtrack than in other similar films and the writing also provides an accurate reflection of the time, dialogue sounding true to the era and the plot sticking pretty close to real events, even though it is clear that some dramatic licence has been taken to liven things up. Liven things up, however, is a phrase I use very loosely as this film is not the most exciting or amusing film dealing with this kind of subject matter. Some will no doubt hold great appreciation for this film’s somewhat clinical approach to presenting events – the word ‘dramatisation’ not being too far from the truth on occasions – but others looking for a laugh will be disappointed that while there seems to be some attempt to make this film as much a comedy as a dramatisation, laughs are somewhat lacking, some humorous moments featuring now and then but by and large the film not being especially funny. Also, the pace is a bit plodding at times, failing to really hold the attention throughout. This, however, will depend on your personal taste in films and the target audience – primarily women and older viewers – will enjoy it a whole lot more. As a drama, in fact, the film works a lot better with plentiful character development creating a wide range of different character types, each of the women being unique even as they stand united and the human drama surrounding them often proves moving and even heartbreaking, their situations being sad but all too real. The success of this character based stuff is as much attributable to the acting as it is the writing and direction though. Featuring a who’s who of big British stars, the acting is uniformly excellent even though not everyone features as much as you might expect, notably Rosamund Pike (who was prominently listed in marketing for the film), who is very good as a smart woman who has progressive points of view, and Roger Lloyd Pack. Sally Hawkins is as lovely as ever and her transformation from shy and reluctant bystander to brave and outgoing heroine is completely convincing. Miranda Richardson is also excellent as a strong and forceful woman who makes herself heard. Geraldine James portrays the perfect level of emotion in the role of an increasingly strained woman on whom the harshness of life is taking its toll. Jaime Winstone is perfectly glamorous for the part with which she is bestowed. And Bob Hoskins is also excellent as you would expect. If nothing else, the film can be commended for the quality of acting on display. Overall, Made in Dagenham is a film that is made very well but that sometimes feels a bit too much like a dramatisation. A bit more humour could really have made it stand out more but as it is it is still a film that will be appreciated very much by its target audience and is a welcome addition to a list of British working class movies like The Full Monty and Brassed Off.

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Review by Robert Mann BA (Hons)

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