Kate Winslet stars in the film The Dressmaker at the Cowichan Performing Arts Centre Monday, Jan. 23.
This two-hour presentation tells the tale of the outcast Myrtle Dunnage, who returns to Australia after 20 years spent mastering the art of dressmaking in Paris to take care of her ailing, mentally unstable mother.
Though she is still on the outside looking in, her exquisite dresses prove irresistible to the uptight women in the small town.
The film has been described by Moorhouse herself as “Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven with a sewing machine.”
In 1926 in the Australian outback town of Dungatar, schoolboy Stewart Pettyman dies in unknown circumstances. The only witness to his death, schoolgirl Myrtle Dunnage, is branded a murderer and exiled from the town by Stewart’s father and town councillor, Evan Pettyman (Shane Bourne).
Now, 25 years later in 1951, Myrtle is back, under the name of Tilly.
The film had its world premiere at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival in September 2015 and was released a month later in Australia and New Zealand, where it was a huge hit.
The film led the AACTA Awards with 13 nominations and won Best Leading Actress, and Best Supporting actor and actress.
The Dressmaker is one of the Reel Alternatives movies that are aimed at fundraising for the Cowichan Valley Hospice.
Tickets are $12 each. Get them through the Cowichan Ticket Centre, online at cowichanpac.ca or by phoning 250-748-7529.