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DRESSMAKER, THE

Wow! Best movie ever. This is a complex dramedy mystery. I cried, laughed so hard my side hurt and I picked my jaw up off the ground several times. Jocelyn Moorhouse is an epic director and writer along with her husband P.J. Hogan and I couldn't wait to see what they would do next.

This is what a good drama is all about. It starts with an aerial view over the vast terrain of Australia. It made me feel as if I was going to watch Little House on the Prairie. The fluffy couch seating at Broad Green Pictures made me think this was going to me a quiet drama. Wrong. I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. This is definitely an award-winning, must-see movie.

The main characters are played by Kate Winslet (Myrtle Tilly Dunnage) the amazing dressmaker, Liam Hemsworth (Teddy Mc Swiney) the tall drink of cool water hunk, Hugo Weaving (Sergean Farrat) the policeman who loves fashion and fabric and Judy Davis (Molly Dunnage) the mother who can't pass up a drink and is a pick pocket.

Every character in this film an important part in the story. I love all of them. The hunch back Percival Almanac (Barry Otto) can only stop by running into a pillow and will have you holding your sides with laughter. Gertrude 'Trudy' Pratt (Sarah Snook) goes from drab to fab in order the capture the heart of William Beaumont (James MacKay). Beulah Harridiene (Kerry Fox) is the school teacher we all have nightmares about. Evan Pettyman (Shane Bourne), like most of the townspeople, has many secrets. Tilly is out for revenge and to reveals them all. Some of them might not make it out of their lies alive.

Tilly, a Paris educated dressmaker, comes home to check on her mother and to confirm whether or not she is a killer. All the townspeople hate her because she murdered another child when she was a little girl. She wants to know if it is true.

Tilly begins making dresses for the various ladies of the town and tries to extract their memories. Through flash backs she finds pieces of the puzzling mystery. She thinks she is cursed and has given up on relationships. Liam Hemsworth has other ideas. Romance is in the air.

The costume designers, Marion Boyce and Margot Wilson outdid themselves from the sad periodic outfits to the fabulous New York runway dresses. Just picture a small town in the middle of nowhere with dirt roads in the 1950s with half the town walking around like New York Fashion week runway models.

Of course, there are sports in this movie and those are my favorite scenes. Tilly's house is on the top of a hill which serves as the golf range and the town below is the golf course. When the balls fly, look out below.

Tilly is full of girl power and has many assets with which to manipulate the townspeople . Her arrival at a local soccer game, wearing a hot cute red dress to distract the players is shocking to this small quiet town. Then, she changes outfits and distracts the other team, leading the favorite team to victory. I loved this scene.

There is violence and sexual content in this film, but it is minimal. I recommend it for ages 14 to 18 as long as they are mature enough to follow a complex drama. I give this film 5 fabulous dresses with golden stars.

By Morgan Bertsch, KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 11

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A glamorous, worldly dressmaker returns to her small Australian hometown to seek the truth behind her notorious reputation. This dark and quirky comedy stars Academy Award winner Kate Winslet as Tilly Dunnage, who cares for her eccentric mother (Academy Award nominee Judy Davis), schemes with the local sergeant (Hugo Weaving) who has secrets of his own, and falls for local farmer Teddy (Liam Hemsworth). As she starts to unravel her scandalous past, she transforms the town's women with her exquisite creations. Armed with only her sewing machine and haute couture style, Tilly shows she is a force to be reckoned with and that revenge never goes out of style. You should know this if "R" rated. We normally do not review "R" rated films but this was unrated when we reviewed it.