Title: The Dressmaker
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Jocelyn Moorhouse
Starring: Kate Winslett, Liam Hemsworth, Hugo Weaving

What It Is: When Tilly Dunnage (Winslett) returns to her small Australian hometown she does so with an agenda full of vengeance over the town that spurned her. When she was but a child she was accused of murdering a classmate. Instead of arresting her Sargeant Farrat (Weaving) sent her off to a boarding school. After years of stewing and sewing have brought her back and she’s after all the people who ruined her childhood. Not everyone is against her, however, her mother Mad Molly (Judy Davis) and Teddy (Hemsworth) a young Aussie Rules player who buys what she is selling.

What We Think: This is a really sloppy film held together by one of Hollywood’s finest actresses. Kate Winslet is fantastic and really comes across well as the revenge-starved woman desperate to complete her vengeance. I think that Hugo Weaving is more than entertaining as well. This film suffers though from several nonsensical plot arcs and sloppy editing. There are points where character motivation changed on a whim. We’re offered no explanation and are instead forced to try and buy what they’re selling us. Well, I put my wallet right back in my pocket!

Our Grade: C-, There’s a ton of stuff to like but at the end of the day the tangled web woven does not benefit the story. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys the work of Kate Winslett or really wants to check out an off the cuff film. Besides this though pay attention and the editing may or may not take you out of the film. It offers some laughs you would not suspect. There’s also some intriguing drama regardless.