Made in Dagenham is a 2010 British comedy-drama film directed by Nigel Cole, written by William Ivory, and starring Sally Hawkins, Bob Hoskins, Miranda Richardson, Geraldine James, Rosamund Pike, Andrea Riseborough, Jaime Winstone, Daniel Mays and Richard Schiff. It dramatises the Ford sewing machinists strike of 1968 that aimed for equal pay for women. Its theme song, with lyrics by Billy Bragg, is performed by Sandie Shaw, a native of the area and former Ford Dagenham clerk.

Made in Dagenham
Directed byNigel Cole
Written byWilliam Ivory
Based onEqual pay for women during the Ford sewing machinists strike of 1968
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyJohn de Borman
Edited byMichael Parker
Music byDavid Arnold
Production
companies
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release dates
  • 11 September 2010 (2010-09-11) (TIFF)
  • 1 October 2010 (2010-10-01) (United Kingdom)
Running time
113 minutes[1]
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£5 million[2]
Box office$12.3 million[3]

A stage musical version of the film opened at London's Adelphi Theatre in 2014.

Plot

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Based on a true story, Made in Dagenham explores the movement that caused a significant law reform. Rita O'Grady (a fictional character) leads the 1968 Ford sewing machinists strike at the Ford Dagenham plant, where female workers walk out to protest sexual discrimination, demanding equal pay. The strike drew major attention around the world because it was considered contrary to women's traditional family roles. The successful strike led to the Equal Pay Act 1970. [4]

Locations

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Cast

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Reception

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Of 122 Rotten Tomatoes reviews, 80% of critics gave the film a positive review.[5] Maclean's, in a review for the film's 2010 Toronto International Film Festival premiere, called it a ".. combination of Milk and Mad Men.. It’s a film that blatantly condemns sexism and shows, despite its mostly light tone, the real cost of fighting for civil rights. The bee-hived and bobbed characters are fully fleshed and well-rounded even though they fit into ’60s archetypes, and the period piece balances optimism and realism in a way that’s both compelling and fun to watch."[6]

Xan Brooks of The Guardian gave it three stars out of five, calling it ".. uncomplicated fare, overly spiced with 60s cliches.... But the film is also robust, amiable and so warm-hearted you'd be a churl to take against it.",[7] while David Cox, also of The Guardian, gave a less glowing review, suggesting that, despite initial potential, ".. a promising opportunity has been squandered."[8]

Roger Ebert gave the film three and a half stars out of four.[9] Mark Kermode praised the film highly on his weekly show on BBC Radio 5 Live. He ranked it as his fourth favourite film of 2010, beating such films as The Social Network and Another Year.[10]

Accolades

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Made in Dagenham was nominated for four awards at the 2010 British Academy Film Awards; Outstanding British Film, Costume Design, Make Up & Hair Design and Supporting Actress (Miranda Richardson).

Award Category Recipient(s) Result
ALFS Awards Supporting Actress of the Year Rosamund Pike Nominated
British Academy Film Awards Best British Film Nominated
Best Costume Design Louise Stjernsward Nominated
Best Makeup and Hair Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou Nominated
Best Actress in a Supporting Role Miranda Richardson Nominated
British Independent Film Awards Best Supporting Actor Bob Hoskins Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Rosamund Pike Nominated
Best Performance by an Actress Sally Hawkins Nominated
Best Screenplay of a British Independent Film William Ivory Nominated
EDA Award Women's Image Award Sally Hawkins Nominated
Eddie Awards Best Edited Feature Film – Comedy or Musical Michael Parker Nominated
Evening Standard British Film Awards Standard Award for Best Actress Sally Hawkins Nominated
Standard Award for Best Technical/Artistic Achievement Andrew McAlpine Nominated
Satellite Awards Best Film Nominated
Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Sally Hawkins Nominated
Women's Image Network Awards Actress Feature Film Sally Hawkins Nominated

Soundtrack

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A soundtrack for the film was released, with the following tracks:[11]

The title song was written by David Arnold and Billy Bragg just for the film.[11]

Musical

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A musical adaption of the film opened on 5 November 2014 at the Adelphi Theatre in London. Scripted by Richard Bean and directed by Rupert Goold, it starred Gemma Arterton in the lead role.[12]

References

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General references
Specific references
  1. ^ "MADE IN DAGENHAM | British Board of Film Classification". Archived from the original on 3 February 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  2. ^ "Made in Dagenham: interview with producers Stephen Woolley and Elizabeth Karlsen". The Daily Telegraph. 16 September 2010. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
  3. ^ Made in Dagenham at Box Office Mojo
  4. ^ Allott, Serena (9 September 2010). "Made in Dagenham: set report". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  5. ^ Made in Dagenham at Rotten Tomatoes
  6. ^ "'Made in Dagenham': Sweet 1960s sensibility and labour unions". Maclean's. 9 September 2010. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
  7. ^ "Made in Dagenham". The Guardian. 21 September 2010. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
  8. ^ "Made in Dagenham: a squandered opportunity". The Guardian. 13 September 2010. Retrieved 4 January 2011.
  9. ^ "They thought they should be paid like men". Rogerebert.com. 23 November 2010. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  10. ^ "My Top Five Films of the Year". BBC. 24 December 2010. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  11. ^ a b Made in Dagenham: Original Soundtrack at AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
  12. ^ "Gemma Arterton to star in Made in Dagenham musical". BBC. 3 March 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
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