Made in Dagenham (15)

Made in Dagenham successfully conveys the right period feel of 1968 . . . Set in glorious summer weather the high rise flats and council estates of industrial Dagenam are given a rose-tinted glow, and with the likeable Sally Hawkins as the striking ` Cinderella`, the film is assuredly feelgood. At the end of the film the women get their equal pay and everyone is happy. . . This was the golden age of trade union militancy, which later degenerated into the `Winter of Discontent` of 1979 and it needed Margaret Thatcher to come along and point out that the problem with socialism was that `eventually one runs out of other people's money `. .. Still, the agitprop in NIcel Cole's film is tastefully subdued, and one is struck by the fact that Rosamund's Pike's Oxford honours graduate is more interesting than the the gallery of male stereotypes which the film employs to underpin its feminist intentions. In fact, this is indicative of the film's simplistic outlook, and its failure to deal with the complex class tensions which erupted in Britain in the the late 1960's . However on the plus side, the film does manage to portray the `innocence` which characterized the idealistic zeal of Trade Union reform which ran amok in the 70's and early 80's culminating in the defeat of the miners. ( ironically at the hands of a `woman` the iron lady herself, Margaret Thatcher.) In this film, the iron lady is the indominitable Barbara Castle . . I suppose it's diffucult for post- Spice Girls generations to understand how it was for women in the early 60's and one must give the film some credit for its efforts in this respect. . . .

I worked as an apprentice at Fords River Plant a few years after this historic moment. Entering the 'trim' shop as we called it was not for the faint hearted! The attention to detail of the locations especially River Plant and the Social Club is very impressive. This is a very enjoyable film with good casting and a subject worthy of a full length feature. I agree with the TO review it addresses the subject in a populist way but still gets the story told. Perhaps my only criticism is the way the Ford management are portraid as rather hapless males, which is a little misleading as most were fairly hard headed such was the nature of the Ford structure at bthe time.

Brilliant from start to finish. Well cast well scripted film held my attention from start to finish. Wish all films were like this

This film is in the tradition of Best of British......films such as The Full Monty, Billy Elliott, Kinky Boots, and, of course, Calendar Girls. If you like amusing, yet also intelligent, well-scripted, directed & acted films, then go to see this one. No, it is NOT a "chick flick" - it's good fun, and ahould appeal to many. See it !

Was that a crafty appearance by Richard Schiff as the hard nosed American strike breaker ? If not, who was the actor with 's in the personnel files such great lines as "....it's all in the personnel files. Find out their weaknesses...."

I really enjoyed this film a simple british true story with amazing acting and attention to detail recreating the era and with a rocking soundtrack. I agree this should be covered in history lessons I was too young at the time to know that these women were responsible for helping to change the law regarding equal pay for women. I felt like cheering at the end one of the best feelgood films I've seen in years.. Well done to all concerned.. Highly recommended.

This is a simple tale of the 1960s/70s that will make you feel good when you come out of the cinema. Its not too much to ask surely but so many films dont even manage much to ask is it but few films these days seem to do this. There is a famous cast of actors to recognise in it and all are competant and believable. When I said what film id been to afterwards in the pub one of the men said it was a chick flick but I think it is more than that. Made me want to find out more about Barbara Castle and the politics of the time. Some of the filming i'm sure was of Croydon tower block offices.

Feelgood when you come out for a change

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. It’d be nice to think that some bright secondary school history teachers would teach the significance of the subject of this film. I don’t think GCSE history includes modern history up to the 70’s, though includes the Suffragette movement. Maybe this is a subject that needs teaching in schools. It’s worrying that there’s a 40 year gap between women being given the vote and them being given equal pay. Why the disparity in the first place? Anyway, a great film. I thought the audience breakdown interesting – almost everyone was 45 and above. Most were well into their mid-fifties – ie people who were working at the time and whom the ladies in Dagenham directly affected with a change in law that resulted in the immediate increase in pay. “Youngsters these days - they don’t know how lucky they are …� They certainly don’t. 10/10 for attention to detail and the styling on this film. The spirit of the 70’s was very well captured. Thanks.

I love going to the cinema and normally go at least twice a month. There are always lots of films I want to see but they are normally kids films like Toy Story 3 or romance films like Dear John. The last film I went to see was quite different to the usual films. Not only was it the first 15 film that I have seen in the cinema, it was more a dramatization than just being a story that is made up to make into a film (that is so bad) Unlike most films I see, where I have heard of a lot of the actors, I hadn't really heard of the actors in the film. Because it is a British film it has mainly British actors like Bob Hoskins and Sally Hawkins. The film tells the story of the 1968 strike at the Ford car plant in Dagenham when the female workers protested against the sexual discrimination that they faced. It follows them as they campaign to get equal pay and shows how it affected all of the people who were involved in it. The reason why I chose to see this film was that I wanted to see something different and I thought it would be good to get an idea of how it happened. Although people who see this film will know how it turned out I still think that if you are interested in it then you should go and see the film to get a better image of everything that happened at that time. Does anyone think that this would be a good review to put in my local paper for my work experience? I don't erally think it is very good but have no idea what else to say! (age 15)