THE DRESSMAKER (Jocelyn Moorhouse). 118 minutes. Opens Friday (September 23). See listing.
Kate Winslet rarely gets to be in the company of so many women. Her new film, The Dressmaker, has a female director, is based on a novel by a female writer and surrounds her with an eclectic female cast that includes Judy Davis.
But despite the talent in front of and behind the camera, Winslet doesn’t want you to think The Dressmaker is feminist.
“I think it’s dangerous to label things in that way,” says the Titanic star, who plays an attractive, well-travelled designer who in the 1950s returns to her dusty Australian hometown and ends up using her charms and strength to exact revenge on the bullies who traumatized her when she was a child.
“The words ‘feminism’ and ‘feminist’ are very strong, profound statements that speak huge volumes. I’m not necessarily sure that I would want to apply them to this film.”
She would rather just label it “fucking cool.” That’s actually a good description of Winslet herself.
She swoops onto a couch at the back of a trendy private lounge dressed in all-black, casual-chic jeans, T-shirt and jacket her bright blond locks are curled to perfection hours before the film’s TIFF 2015 premiere. She’s got the same whirlwind energy I see every time she comes to the festival, whether she’s pirouetting in a cramped hotel hallway or warmly and genuinely responding to questions (even distasteful ones) with an animated glow.
Winslet’s Dressmaker co-star Liam Hemsworth compares her upbeat vibe to that of his Hunger Games co-star Jennifer Lawrence.
“Both possess that spunk,” says Hemsworth in an interview just moments before Winslet’s. “They can come onto a set and change the mood of everyone just with their energy. It’s larger-than-life energy.”
Hemsworth plays the romantic foil to Winslet’s Tilly, a surprising casting choice considering the age gap between them. “He’s about five years old,” Winslet jokes.
Ageism is a recurring problem in Hollywood, restricting many talented female actors after they hit their 30s. Maggie Gyllenhaal reported being told she was too old at 37 to play the romantic lead opposite a 55-year-old man. The Dressmaker is the rare film that reverses the age dynamic and doesn’t even try to make a point about it.
“I think it’s about how you feel alongside that person,” says Winslet. “[Liam] was the right person for the role. I didn’t particularly feel as though he was younger than me or I was older than him. I didn’t have that fist-pumping moment: ‘Hey, look at me with the younger actor!’”
