In “The Dressmaker” Kate Winslet’s Myrtle “Tilly” Dunnage goes back to her run-down hometown a striking vision of worldly sophistication only to find her mother Molly (Judy Davis) living in squalor and the rest of the community treating them with contempt.
Eager to make amends with her past, she sets out to clear her name connected with the death of a young boy some 20 years ago. Feeling undeserving of the scorn from the locals, she befriends the women one dazzling dress at a time.
Unsettling with its dark undertones, the film offers a somber look at Australia's bushlands. Director Jocelyn Moorhouse (famous for films such as "How to Make an American Quilt") aptly suspended disbelief with the story's strange development, including Tilly's involvement with the town's hunkiest resident Teddy McSwiney (Liam Hemsworth).
Despite Hugo Weaving's and Judy Davis' memorable and believable characters, the plot is unclear regarding Tilly's true intentions. Maybe Tilly just believes in killing them with kindness. Maybe it's something else. While the audience seeks the answer, the film includes distractions that induce laughter, tears and a host of other emotions. The plot unravels quite convolutedly until the very end.
And in the end, Tilly reveals--quite suddenly too--what she has always been there for: Vengeance, and nothing else.
Find out for yourself if revenge is indeed back in fashion. “The Dressmaker” opens nationwide this November 4 from Axinite Digicinema.
Eager to make amends with her past, she sets out to clear her name connected with the death of a young boy some 20 years ago. Feeling undeserving of the scorn from the locals, she befriends the women one dazzling dress at a time. 
Unsettling with its dark undertones, the film offers a somber look at Australia's bushlands. Director Jocelyn Moorhouse (famous for films such as "How to Make an American Quilt") aptly suspended disbelief with the story's strange development, including Tilly's involvement with the town's hunkiest resident Teddy McSwiney (Liam Hemsworth).
Despite Hugo Weaving's and Judy Davis' memorable and believable characters, the plot is unclear regarding Tilly's true intentions. Maybe Tilly just believes in killing them with kindness. Maybe it's something else. While the audience seeks the answer, the film includes distractions that induce laughter, tears and a host of other emotions. The plot unravels quite convolutedly until the very end.
And in the end, Tilly reveals--quite suddenly too--what she has always been there for: Vengeance, and nothing else. Find out for yourself if revenge is indeed back in fashion. “The Dressmaker” opens nationwide this November 4 from Axinite Digicinema.
