Ladies in Black

Image credit: IMDb

Not an awful lot of Australian cinema makes it into the mainstream movie theatres, but when they do, my goodness they are good! A few years ago, Aussie cinema was all about gritty murder stories and beastly hard dramas, with light-hearted comedies and feel-good films being shoved into a ‘nobody cares’ pile. However, the best thing about cinema is how it reflects the changing tastes and attitudes of the time and it’s those moments when you’re given real treats like Ladies in Black.

Set in Syney in 1959, at a time of blossoming liberation, the film tells multiple stories of a number of women who work in a high-end department store. One story is that of sixteen year-old Lisa (Angourie Rice) who is hired as a Christmas casual as she awaits her HSC results, and is taken under the wing of the haughty, yet warm-hearted migrant Magda (Julia Ormond) in the high fashion department. Another is that of cocktail department sales woman, Fay (Rachael Taylor), a repressed intellectual romantic who struggles to find love amongst the common ‘blokes’ of her country.

This film positively glows with hope, nostalgia, and a fabulously shimmering outlook on life. On the surface it may not seem like much is actually happening in terms of narrative, but this is made up for by the wonderfully relatable characters and truly lovely performances of the cast.

Image credit: Hollywood Reporter

Bruce Beresford does a most remarkable job of creating deep and complex characters through very minute scenes and snippets of dialogue, with the rest of the time devoted to depicting a gorgeous and vintage picture of Sydney in the mid-twentieth century, both visually and in terms of cultural attitudes. The cinematography is absolutely superb and this, mingled with the gorgeous costume and hair and makeup design makes Ladies in Black a most lovely period piece.

It’s a film that definitely falls into the company of those feel-good movies you can curl up on the couch with a cup of tea with, offering a movie-experience that is warm, hopeful, nostalgic, and touching. Ladies in Black is truly lovely.

Director: Bruce Beresford, 2018

Cast: Angourie Rice, Julia Ormond, Rachael Taylor, Alison McGirr, Shane Jacobson, Ryan Corr, Susie Porter, Vincent Perez, Nicholas Hammond, Luke Pegler, and Noni Hazlehurst