Made in Dagenham

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Made in Dagenham
Made in dagenham poster.jpg
Directed by Nigel Cole
Produced by
Written by William Ivory
Starring
Music by David Arnold
Cinematography John de Borman
Editing by Michael Parker
Studio
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)
  • 11 September 2010 (2010-09-11) (TIFF)
  • 1 October 2010 (2010-10-01) (United Kingdom)
Running time 113 minutes
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Budget £5 million[1]
Box office $12,395,087[2]

Made in Dagenham is a 2010 British film directed by Nigel Cole. The film stars Sally Hawkins, Bob Hoskins, Miranda Richardson, Geraldine James, Rosamund Pike, Andrea Riseborough, Jaime Winstone, Daniel Mays and Richard Schiff. It dramatises the Ford sewing machinists strike of 1968 that aimed for equal pay for women. The film's theme song, with lyrics by Billy Bragg, is performed by Sandie Shaw, herself a former Dagenham Ford clerk.

Contents

Plot [edit]

Rita O'Grady leads the 1968 Ford sewing machinists strike at the Ford Dagenham plant, where famale workers walk out in protest against sexual discrimination, demanding equal pay. The strike is successful and leads to the Equal Pay Act 1970.

Historical inaccuracies [edit]

The women did not actually work at the Dagenham assembly plant but about a mile away at the River Plant (a collection of sheds). While the set used for the picket line has a sign that says "River Plant", the dialogue always refers to Dagenham.

The main character and strike leader, Rita O'Grady, is a composite character.

At the beginning of the film, Desmond Dekker's song 'Israelites' is heard. However, at the time depicted in the film, 1968, the song had not been released in the U.K, only topping the charts in April 1969.

The film shows the assembly lines producing the Ford Cortina Mk I. In fact, at the time of the dispute, Ford were already manufacturing the Mk II, which is seen in the modelling scene.

The school used in the film is Eastbrook Comprehensive School, Dagenham. The blackboard in the opening scene is the original blackboard from when the school was built.

Cast [edit]

Reception [edit]

Of 122 Rotten Tomatoes reviews, 80% rated the film "fresh".[3] Maclean's, in a review for the film's 2010 Toronto International Film Festival premiere, called it a ".. combination of Milk and Mad Men.. It’s a film that blatantly condemns sexism and shows, despite its mostly light tone, the real cost of fighting for civil rights. The bee-hived and bobbed characters are fully fleshed and well-rounded even though they fit into ’60s archetypes, and the period piece balances optimism and realism in a way that’s both compelling and fun to watch."[4]

Xan Brooks of The Guardian gave it three stars out of five, calling it ".. uncomplicated fare, overly spiced with 60s cliches.... But the film is also robust, amiable and so warm-hearted you'd be a churl to take against it." Roger Ebert gave the film three and a half stars out of four.,[5] while David Cox, also of The Guardian, gave a less glowing review, suggesting that, despite initial potential, ".. a promising opportunity has been squandered."[6]

Mark Kermode praised the film highly on his weekly show on BBC Radio 5 Live. He ranked it as his fourth favourite film of 2010, beating such films as The Social Network and Another Year.[7]

Made in Dagenham was nominated for four awards at the 2010 British Academy Film Awards; Outstanding British Film, Costume Design, Make Up & Hair Design and Supporting Actress (Miranda Richardson).

Soundtrack [edit]

A soundtrack for the film was released, with the following tracks:[8]

  1. (There's) Always Something There to Remind Me - Sandie Shaw
  2. Get Ready - The Temptations
  3. Israelites - Desmond Dekker & The Aces
  4. It's a Man's Man's Man's World - James Brown
  5. Days - The Kinks
  6. Can I Get a Witness - Dusty Springfield
  7. All or Nothing - Small Faces
  8. The Boat That I Row - Lulu
  9. It's Getting Better - Mama Cass
  10. A Groovy Kind of Love - The Mindbenders
  11. Wooly Bully - Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs
  12. Sunday Will Never Be The Same - Spanky and Our Gang
  13. Green Tambourine - Lemon Pipers
  14. Paper Sun - Traffic
  15. Friday on My Mind - The Easybeats
  16. With a Girl Like You - The Troggs
  17. You Can Get It If You Really Want - Desmond Dekker
  18. Made In Dagenham - Sandie Shaw

The title song was written by David Arnold and Billy Bragg just for the film.[8]

References [edit]

 This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (May 2011)
General references
Specific references
  1. ^ "Made in Dagenham: interview with producers Stephen Woolley and Elizabeth Karlsen". The Daily Telegraph. 16 September 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-05. 
  2. ^ Made in Dagenham at Box Office Mojo
  3. ^ Made in Dagenham at Rotten Tomatoes
  4. ^ "‘Made in Dagenham’: Sweet 1960s sensibility and labour unions". Maclean's. September 9, 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-05. 
  5. ^ "Made in Dagenham". The Guardian. 21 September 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-05. 
  6. ^ "Made in Dagenham: a squandered opportunity". The Guardian. September 13, 2010. Retrieved 2011-01-04. 
  7. ^ "My Top Five Films of the Year". BBC. December 24, 2010. Retrieved 2011-01-23. 
  8. ^ a b Made in Dagenham: Original Soundtrack at Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-05-15.

External links [edit]

Films directed by Nigel Cole
2000s
2010s
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Made_in_Dagenham&oldid=555195453"