The Dressmaker

As this 2015 movie starts in a dusty little Australian wide spot in the road, we immediately realize that the people we will be joining are not very nice. An extremely well-dressed young woman walks to a rundown hovel and is met with a torrent of abuse from a semi-bedridden old crone. Her response is to start to clean up the place and try to feed that hateful woman.

Australian director Jocelyn Moorhouse ("How to Make an American Quilt") working from a novel by Rosalie Ham, has created an authentic-feeling, provincial bunch of small-minded people who do NOT welcome back this long-absent villager. In no time at all, we realize there are some BIG secrets in this little place!

The cast:

• Kate Winslet ("Collateral Beauty") Tilly has come back to find out what actually happened when she was a child. She only knew she had been exiled but didn't understand why.
• Judy Davis ("Feud") Molly is not interested in enlightening her daughter. Some things are best left alone!
• Hugo Weaving ("Hacksaw Ridge") Sergeant Farrat has his own take on the event that haunts the town. He quickly realizes that some of the fabrics Tilly brought with her are fabulous! (See the preview.)
• Liam Hemsworth ("Hunger Games") Teddy is the local hunk who is determined to catch Tilly's eye. His developmentally disabled brother might know a secret.

We watch a drug-addicted wife cruelly exploited by her philandering husband, a spurned young woman who discovers how effective a smart new outfit can be, a petty social climber interested only in her own future, and a mother still grieving for her long-dead child...who, in my opinion, was a spoiled, nasty, playground bully.

This unpredictable tale has humor, mystery, revenge, reconciliation, and a satisfying end...AND the DVD has captions!

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Watch this preview:

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2284565273

* * * * * * * * * * * *