Made in Dagenham Released 1 October 2010 Director Nigel Cole Starring Sally Hawkins, Miranda Richardson, Rosamund Pike, Jaime Winstone, Bob Hoskins, Richard Schiff, John Sessions Writer Bill Ivory Producer(s) Elizabeth Karlsen, Stephen Wooley Origin United Kingdom Running Time 112 minutes Genre Drama Rating 15A

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Empowering.

It's not often that a movie pushes me onto my feminist high horse, and forces me to ponder the inequalities that still abound in modern day society- but that's exactly how I felt after watching Made in Dagenham, the new movie from Nigel Cole (Calender Girls). It dramatises the all important strike by female machinists in the Ford factory in Dagenham on the outskirts of London in the late ‘60s. This strike occurred at first because the 187 female workers of a Ford manufacturing plant employing thousands of men, were downgraded to an "unskilled grade", and were forced to take a pay cut to their already paltry wages- a pay cut which meant that they would be paid 15% less than their male counterparts in similar positions. This important fact quickly led the dispute to evolve into something much greater- a fight for equal pay for men and women, and through their determination the wheels were set in place for the UK Equal Pay Act of 1970, which opens with the statement- "Requirement of equal treatment for men and women in same employment".

With such an inspirational narrative as this it would have been easy for Cole to let the plot do the work and neglect all the other elements of a great film, but thankfully a well picked cast and touching side stories emphasise rather than take away from the emotional and important issues discussed here. Sally Hawkins plays Rita O'Grady sublimely- deftly managing to display on one hand one woman's gradually strengthening resolve to speak for what was right, and on the other allowing us to see the vulnerability of a woman with a family to support, and the strain that her fight for justice had on her personal life.

It’s this element of the effect that the strike had on the people involved that really takes the movie to a higher level of entertainment, making it emotionally charged, funny and touching in so many ways. In particular the relationship between one of the machinists and her husband deeply strikes a chord. Connie (Geraldine James) is married to George (Roger Lloyd Pack- some of you may recognise him as Trigger from Only Fools and Horses) who is dealing with the ugly aftermath of surviving fighting in World War II, and is left with painful psychological scars from experiencing fighting first hand. With Connie as the sole provider and caretaker of her husband, who is now incapable of taking care of himself, the effect of sacrificing pay and time to fight her own war is devastating, and creates a powerful additional edge to the ongoing dispute.

Yet another interesting facet of Made in Dagenham is the treatment the union leaders receive- not withstanding Bob Hoskin's engaging turn as the encouraging and sympathetic local worker union rep, they are seen as chauvinistic fat cats, making decisions for the workers on their own terms, all the while enjoying the benefits of their lofty positions. The Ford corporate bosses are similarly detached and unconcerned with the women's cause, and in the current climate of debt, cutbacks and shortfalls, industry's responsibilities towards workers’ rights is indeed a topical subject to be examined.

Rosamund Pike plays Lisa, a highly educated, middle class wife of a Ford boss, and demonstrates that the chauvinism and lack of respect towards women transcends class, creating a slightly feigned and unlikely "sisterhood"  relationship between herself and Rita. Barbara Castle, who was the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity in Harold Wilson's government at the time, is played by Miranda Richardson in a role that felt almost like a depiction of Maggie Thatcher in a comical sense, (as odd as that may sound) and her own difficulties in working in a male dominated environment echoes the equal pay dispute and accentuates the need for equality for women in the workplace across the board.

Tying all these elements together are the background elements of fashion design and a working class atmosphere, which lends the film an air of realism, meaning it feels almost as if it was made in the sixties. The clips shown at the end of the movie of the real women involved in the conflict are worth seeing, and brings home the point that these were real women with real life worries, who sacrificed so much to achieve what was a massively important milestone in history. It's high time their heroic story was celebrated by being brought to the big screen.

- Eadaoin Browne