Irish actor Chris O'Dowd can do no wrong these days. He is hilarious in the mockumentary Family Tree on HBO, and in Australian gem The Sapphires, he will steal your heart.
Based loosely on the real life story of 3 aboriginal girls and their half white cousin in 1960s Australia who formed a girl band and performed for troops in Vietnam, it is like nothing else you have ever seen. And yet, it has that familiar "feel good movie" trajectory that I love so well.
Shari Sebbens, Miranda Tapsell, Jessica Mauboy and Deborah Mailman as The Sapphires
The actresses are fabulous Aussie unknowns (hopefully not for long). The frocks are wonderfully evocative of the period, and the Go-Go boots are just fabulous!
The script was written by Tony Briggs, the son of one of the original singers, although he changed it (in his words, "we went a bit 'Argo'") to make the dynamics of the story richer. Actually, he had written a 2004 play by the same name and co-wrote the film script with Keith Thompson. The director Wayne Blair is also an aboriginal who acted in the original play.
The original Sapphires: Naomi Mayers, Lois Peeler, Laurel Robinson and Beverly Briggs
So if you need a wonderfully uplifting and inspiring film some evening, with a bit of 1960s soul music and a dash of romance, this is your chick flick. My hubby loved it just as much as I did, and we both enjoyed the DVD extras with interviews with the four lovely ladies above.
Cheers!