Made in Dagenham

There was much debate about whether this was an appropriate film to include in this season's programme. After all, this is a film which went on general release and which will doubtless be filling  the Christmas TV schedules for many years to come – and (we think) most of our audience come to see the films which they would not otherwise get to see locally. Well the results are in – all  the feedback forms rated it as either A (excellent) or B (very good) and it got the highest rating of the year at 91%, albeit on a relatively low turn-out. So maybe there is a place for feel-good movies in our schedule. 

The film was originally going to be called “We Want Sex” - and indeed it was released under that title in some countries – for example, Italy, land of the bunga-bunga, while in France they called it “We Want Sex Equality”, appealing to their film-goers via the twin French obsessions of sex and strikes. How's that for racial stereotyping?

Some other interesting facts:

• There really was a strike and it did close down Ford's Dagenham plant
• They really did meet Barbara Castle (for tea – not whisky & sherry) who played a significant role in brokering a deal
• The scene with the partially unfurled banner proclaiming “We Want Sex” really happened. It was related by one of the strikers on Sue MacGregor's Reunion programme on Radio4. See this link:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/reunion/reunion7.shtml. In fact it was listening to this programme that inspired director Nigel Cole to make the film.
• The trades unions and male co-workers were generally unsympathetic to the women's case although there were some notable exceptions. 

For more background, see this  interview with two of the real strikers in the Socialist Review – http://www.socialistreview.org.uk/article.php?articlenumber=11407 

As far as I know all the characters apart from Barbara Castle and Harold Wilson (great little cameo from John Sessions!) were imaginary – or "fictionalized", to use the jargon.

All-in-all a pleasant evening's entertainment.

Comments from feedback forms:

A	Uplifting and re-affirming. Excellent acting and directing kept me interested from start to finish.
A	Excellent – well worth showing. Thanks.
A	Simply excellent.
A	Great straightforward story-telling entertainment. Good message.
A	We need to remember the struggle – really enjoyed it.
A	Loved it! Great cast. More films like this please.
A	Poignant and entertaining – insight into a ground-breaking dispute with humour!
A	Would like my daughter (born in '72) to see what she has inherited!
A	A very good film that portrays the issues of women's rights. An insight into a part of history that is rarely seen.
A	Slightly before my time – so not sure how true it was – but inspirational. Equal pay for women has gone on to change society in UK.
A	Modern day suffragettes – uplifting telling of recent history – excellent performances!
A	Loved the music and evocation of the 60's
A	A very good description of past life in early days of woman's plight in the world of work.
B	Much to my surprise – I enjoyed it!
B	ENJOYABLE – VERY INTERESTING REMINDER OF HOW THINGS HAVE CHANGED.
B	Good fun.
B	Feel good but somewhat simplistic/idealised vision of an important sea change for women & employees
B	A very good “feel-good” film. Excellent cast, bit disappointed with Miranda Richardson, but a good watch.
B	There were a lot of cliché bits – eg the Mr O'Grady coming round to support his wife etc. But a very 'feel-good' film. And an interesting historical 'slice', I think there's another story to this ~ all the political manoeuvrings to a) resolve the dispute + b) to incorporate the equal pay act into law.
B	A very entertaining film.
B	Interesting film representing life of that time
B	Entertaining with several different strands to add interest.
B	Very entertaining. Some excellent characterisations too, and atmospheric also.
B	Excellent film, very credible, the script and direction were outstanding.

On-line reviews:

The Telegraph's Tim Robey (3 stars):
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/8034989/Made-in-Dagenham-review.html

Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian (3 stars):
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/sep/30/made-in-dagenham-film-review

IMDB users gave it 7.1 out of 10: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1371155/
Rotten Tomatoes, 74%: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/made_in_dagenham/