Review by Stephen Tronicek
THE DRESSMAKER is about revenge, but it’s not ever focused on a specific person. The town of Dungatar, to which Tilly Demogue (Kate Winslet) returns, is at first just a quiet little town in the outback, but soon becomes something much more perverted and challenging. The same can be said for The Dressmaker. While it’s certainly never a quiet film (that is emotionally speaking and also considering the rich and persistent score) The Dressmaker certainly starts out seeming normal, and then perverts itself, landing on a note that’s hard to take, but captivating to unfold.
The whole narrative framing of the story here is not on any specific character which is the most important thing in the film to remember. It’s actually placed on the collective actions of the entire town, meaning that the logic of that the film follows the overall mood of the setting rather than the individual characters in the story. That collective mood is based in a way that while the town on the surface has a very quirky yet normal veneer, there’s something rotten about it. As the story starts Dungatar looks like a quaint, if odd town, but soon that quaintness is disrupted through little spatters of dialogue concerning different types of abuse. Basically, the film wants to be funny by showing the audience what looks like a normal town, and then allowing through ,small details, the messed up nature of the town to come out as punchlines. The effect is biting, but also a little bit deflating. All of it is quite disturbing, but as complexly as it’s constructed it never fails to absorb.
The film somewhat fails in its application of this tone to the overarching story, which does aid in plot and story cohesion, but also just feels deflated. The moments of dialogue, or action that these tragic punchlines are applied to don’t feel out of place in the realm of what seems logical according to the film but when the film applies this to the overall narrative, you get hilarious, out of nowhere twists, that feel like they should have been set up somewhere earlier in the narrative. The film almost seems to go on individual tangents just to allow some shocking revelation to come up, but these revelations, while shocking, don’t really seem to add much to the movie, and only seem to muddle it.
Human drama in THE DRESSMAKER feels a bit perfunctory as it goes on too, and that’s not too much of a surprise. That’s almost unavoidable with the way the narrative is set up, and the actors do a fine job of fighting that. Kate Winslet, playing Tilly Demouge, really is the best in the business at playing a headstrong woman who is ready to steamroll anyone who gets in her way but is vulnerable enough to be empathetic. Judy Davis is magnificent as her mother, taking a character that is scripted all over the map and focussing her, creating the most memorable character of the film. Liam Hemsworth presents a fine romantic lead, but his entire character feels as meaningless as the drama he inhabits, especially since he only serves as a punchline to an entire section of the film. The other masters here: Hugo Weaving and Sarah Snook are on great display as the way the story twists and the required character change keep them on their toes attempting to make their characters cohere. They mostly succeed in this, but only by their great talents.
THE DRESSMAKER isn’t anything close to a good film, but it’s consistently different. As is, it’s component parts don’t really come together in any meaningful way. Try as the cast and the director might, they simply can’t save this oddity, as funny and dramatic
as it sometimes is.
THE DRESSMAKER is currently playing in St. Louis exclusively at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Theater
2 1/2 of 5 Stars
