TIFF Talk 2015: Matthew, "The Dressmaker"

Name: Matthew, Toronto

The Film: The Dressmaker (Australia)

What's it about?

The Dressmaker is set in Australia around 1950, which is basically like America in 1850 so it's a western, but it's a western that's completely female. Kate Winslet plays this exiled character who returns to town to get her revenge, but she doesn't use guns. Her weapon is self-esteem. She comes back because she can make couture dresses, and her way of avenging herself is transforming all the women in the town -- taking them out of the dark ages and giving them power.

Did you like it?

I loved it. It's like the best John Ford westerns in that it sets the plot up in the first five minutes and then it's about an hour of broadly comedic character performances that you get to enjoy. Judy Davis plays Winslet's mom and she's tremendous. Every character in this film is really well drawn and funny. It's lovely and so beautifully directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse. It's the kind of movie that you can take your parents to and they would totally enjoy it, but you would totally enjoy it too.

Opens in theatres on October 29th.

Matthew Price is a film reviewer and co-hosts the MAMO podcast with Matt Brown. Check out Matthew's other film podcast, Let's Scare Matthew Price to Death, and follow him on Twitter.

Watch The Dressmaker Trailer