Revenge is best served while wearing a fabulous dress.
Kate Winslet stars as Myrtle “Tilly” Dunnage in the Australian dark comedy “The Dressmaker,” from director Jocelyn Moorhouse. Tilly is a sophisticated couturier who returns to her middle-of-nowhere town to reunite with her aging mother (Judy Davis) and clear her name in an old murder case.
The film premiered at TIFF in 2015 and went on to become a huge success in Australia, debuting number one at the box office, earning over $14 million, and was nominated for 12 awards at the Aussie Oscars.
In an interview with Women and Hollywood, Moorhouse said she was drawn to the project because of “the strong female characters, the mix of dark humor and poignant emotion, and the many surprises in the story.”
As we previously reported, “The Dressmaker” faced a sexist uphill battle to get made. The film’s producer, Sue Maslin, previously revealed that when she pitched the project to international buyers, she was met with hesitation and told the film was “too high a risk.” To be clear, this was after Winslet — international movie star and award-show staple — had signed on. In an article published in The Sydney Morning Herald, Maslin wrote, “In a film about a woman dressmaker targeted primarily to a female audience, the exclusively male sales agents and buyers needed A-list male actors to secure the sales estimates.” (Liam Hemsworth of “The Hunger Games” ended up being cast in the role.)
“The Dressmaker” finally hits U.S. theaters on September 23. Watch the trailer below and ogle at the drool-worthy dresses.
