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MADE IN DAGENHAM (2010) (***1/2)

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Rita O'Grady wasn't looking to become a leader of the equal pay for women movement. In director Nigel Cole's film, she is presented as a strong woman who found herself thrust into a leadership role because there was no one else. Many will be reminded of NORMA RAE and DAGENHAM star Sally Hawkins gives a performance equal to Oscar winner Sally Fields.

Hawkins plays O'Grady, a seamstress at the Dagenham Ford Motor Company plant. She is part of the team that hand sews the seat upholstery. The 100 plus women who work at the planet get paid less than the male skilled laborers. Ford doesn't consider them skilled. So the women go on strike for themselves. Their union reluctantly supports them, but the company will not budge. If they give these women equal pay they'll have to do it everywhere.

O'Grady is encouraged to lead the women by her foreman Albert Passingham (Bob Hoskins, WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT), who thought it was unfair that his single mother had to work a second job because she got paid less than the men at her day job. Her husband Eddie (Daniel Mays, ATONEMENT) is hugely supportive of his wife’s actions. But the longer she is out of work and the more she has to depend on him to take care of the kids; the more strained their relationship becomes.

While the women of the plant endure the struggles of being on strike, First Secretary of State Barbara Castle (Miranda Richardson, SPIDER) was working behind the scenes to support the women while still remaining an advocate of business. Lisa Hopkins (Rosamund Pike, PRIDE & PREJUDICE) is the house wife of one of the Ford execs. Though she is a college educated woman, her husband and his co-workers treat her like she doesn’t have a thought in her head. For her Rita is a hero.

This is a first-rate true-life inspiration tale. What makes it special is that it avoids the obvious traps of a film of its nature. Most of the men in the film aren’t pigs. The women have a lot of guys on their side. The union backs them, but gets scared when the strike threatens negotiations for the men. The Ford Company isn’t really sexist outright. It’s tradition to pay women less and they need to save money somewhere. The treatment of the women as second class citizens isn’t overt; the men just don’t think about it. The toughest challenge for the women is to make the men see it from their point of view.

Part of the film’s success is its cast. Hawkins, who was robbed of an Oscar nomination for HAPPY-GO-LUCKY, gives another Oscar worthy performance. She is a born leader because she talks with authority. She can’t be marginalized because she won’t let it happen. Richardson is dynamic as a woman in a man’s business. She wants to support the striking women, but she has to play the political game. Pike gives a heartbreaking performance as a beautiful and smart woman who has been relegated to making dinner and cocktails for the boys. She seems like a woman who has everything, but things aren’t always as them seem. Hopkins adds a nice dose of giddy enthusiasm and humor. He bubbles with pride and excitement every time his female employees stand up for what is right. His smiles are infectous.

The strike tests the resolve of all the women. Some waver to the enticements of the company. Others break under the stress that the strike puts on their families. But though it all, Rita is only emboldened. She goes from reluctant leader to a great inspiration. The strike doesn’t just change the way the men view the women, but how they view themselves as well.

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Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks