THE SAPPHIRES is a funny and very entertaining film. From the opening scene of two girls running through a flowering golden field to the sound of Credence’s RUN THROUGH THE JUNGLE. It looks good and it sounds good.
We meet some of the central characters, sisters Gail (Deborah Mailman), Diana (Jessica Mauboy) and Cynthia (Miranda Tapsell) as they squabble, tease and laugh at themselves. The mother (Kylie Belling) starts singing a very sweet version of YELLOW BIRD and as the daughters join in, the squabble is soon forgotten and we hear that they are a talented family of singers.
Gail & Cynthia head into town to sing in a pub talent contest. Diana is too young to enter the pub, and also too young in her parents eyes, but manages to travel from the mission into town and the trio are clearly the best in the talent contest. The management and the racist crowd, however, don’t support them. The dishevelled Irish pub pianist and talent quest host, Dave (Chris O’Dowd), recognises their talent and the poor treatment that they have received, and makes a futile process to the crowd and the publican, Merle (Judith Lucy).
Dave facilitates an audition to entertain the troops in Vietnam. The three girls travel to Melbourne and recruit their much fairer cousin, Kay (Shari Sebbens), who has been brought up as a privileged white girl. They overcome various hurdles and travel to Vietnam for their concert tour. There is drama, entertainment, romance and great music as they travel around Vietnam.
The relationships between the various characters make this film superior to many biopics. The characterisations have depth and complexity. Predominantly we see Gail as strong and domineering, Diana as young, scared and ambitious, Cynthia as outlandish and vivacious and Kay as conflicted about her background and culture. As the film develops we see more contrasts and nuances in their respective personalities. Dave meanwhile is very funny, passionate about soul music but a little incompetent as the band’s manager.
THE SAPPHIRES covers wider issues without being heavy handed and didactic. Woven into the story are themes around the stolen generation, the civil rights movement, alcoholism, small town bigotry, and even Tupperware parties!
The cinematography by Warwick Thornton is bright and sunny when required, which is most of the time, and makes the film a pleasure to watch. The excellent screenplay is by Tony Briggs and Keith Thompson. The dialogue has great realism and plenty of humour. Director Wayne Blair, who also produced the original stage version of the production at Belvoir Street with Deborah Mailman, has wonderfully captured this wonderful slice sixties history.
© Mark Pigott
26th July, 2012
Tags: Sydney Movie Reviews- THE SAPPHIRES, Wayne Blair, Deborah Mailman, Jessica Mauboy, Miranda Tapsell, Kylie Belling, Chris O’Dowd, Judith Lucy, Karl Sebbens, Warwick Thornton, Tony Briggs, Keith Thompson, Sydney Arts Guide, Mark Pigott.