• Life: bits and pieces

    Movie review: ‘Ladies in Black’

    I went to a screening of ‘Ladies in Black’ recently: it was a fundraising event for a local community group. Having seen the stage play musical last year, I thought the screen version a little lighter than the play, which I found had a few more pointed comments about the sexism and xenophobia of 1950’s Australia. However, for a light-hearted dip into our social history, the film does a terrific job. Great performances by Noni Hazelhurst, Shane Jacobson, Susie Porter and Julia Ormond, as well as the younger cast members. The real star, of course, is Sydney in the late 1950’s – the trams, the department stores, the fashions and hairstyles.

    I haven’t read the book so I can’t comment on how well the movie adapts the original story by Madelaine St John.

    If you have read theĀ  book, I’d love to know your opinion of the adaptation. Does the film do the original story justice?