LADIES IN BLACK

STARRING: Rachael Taylor, Angourie Rice, Noni Hazlehurst, Julia Ormond

It’s 1959 Sydney and, despite being a girl, Lesley (Rice) has dreams of going to university, dreams her traditional father (Shane Jacobson) doesn’t agree with but her loving mother (Susie Porter) is prepared to conspire with her to achieve. Taking a summer job at Goodes’ department store, Lesley rechristens herself Lisa and becomes acquainted with stern floor supervisor Miss Cartwright (Hazlehurst), fashion girls Fay ( Taylor) and Patty (Alison Mcgirr) and the glamorous Magda (Ormond), who is resented by Fay and Patty as a “reffo” – one of the many new immigrants from Europe – and for her prestigious position as the manager of the high-end model gowns section of the floor.

As the summer progresses, Magda makes over dowdy wallflower Lisa into a brighter, more confident version of herself, Lisa opens Fay up to embracing the new and Patty confronts the problems in her marriage. With themes of refugee-resentment and feminismon-the-rise that are more timely than ever, Bruce Beresford’s Ladies in Black – based on the 1993 novel by Madeline St John, and previously made into a 2015 musical by Tim Finn – is as well-tailored as the clothes Goodes’ sells. And as totally charming. (Out now)