SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

Purely Joyful Movie!

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

It is so daring, it is so ambitious, it is so thrilling and weird and pointed and powerful. I never knew where it was going.

I loved this movie! I laughed, cried, got angry and The was left satisfied! Wonderful cast!

One false note and the whole thing collapses. Typically, scripts are edited and re-edited until your eyes fall out, and then re-edited some more. To draw you in, everything should be plausible and believable: Believable characters, believable storylines, believable situations. This film managed to keep its balls in the air until 1/3 of the way through, when our zaftig, middle-aged heroine waddles into the middle of a rugby game and distracts the players with a cocktail dress. More than likely these men would have been puzzled by the incongruity, not smitten with desire for a woman old enough to be their aunt. Okay, one sour note in the storyline, I guess I can keep watching. Then along comes the playground scene. Tilly begs her schoolmate not to tell where she's hiding. Come on, man. This is a town of not more than thirty people in the middle of nowhere, how in the world can she expect to keep hiding indefinitely? It makes zero sense. You people who automatically rated this film ten stars just because it stars Kate Winslet should have your head examined.

The plot the costumes the acting were all amazing. Kate Winslet is the total goddess in this movie.

It's 1951. Fashionable Tilly Dunnage (Kate Winslet) returns to her rural hometown of Dungatar, Australia. Her delusional mother (Judy Davis) lives in their rundown family home. Twenty five years earlier, she was banished for suspicion of murder which she does not remember. She seeks the truth and revenge for the guilty. Teddy McSwiney (Liam Hemsworth) is a friendly neighbor. Sergeant Horatio Farrat (Hugo Weaving) is a cross-dresser.This is filled with a collection of strange characters. The movie is set to be a weird dark disturbing affair. I don't care that much about the dressmaking except for helping Tilly to solve the 25 year old case. I'm not always a fan of extensive flashbacks but this movie needs it. The most compelling aspect is the mystery of the boy's death. The movie is energized whenever Tilly starts solving the case. The present is less compelling than the past. The pacing does struggle at times. It takes a darker turn after solving the case. In a way, the movie starts anew after the climax which is often problematic. There are many issues. It tries to be quirky light comedy at times which fit uncomfortably with the dark material. This is possibly a better fit for a mini-series where the various twists can be given a cliffhanger and room to breathe. There are some great sections but it's bumpy ride.