User reviews

The movie perfectly captures this distinct 50s post WW2 vibe of blissful ignorance. Think of movies like Father of the bride or Pillow talk. You can easily imagine the young Audrey Hepburn as Lisa, Spencer Tracy as her father and Doris Day as Fay. But don't get me wrong: the actual casting in this movie was spot on. Especially Julia Ormond stole the show with her wonderful performance.

If you don't expect this movie to be a socially or psychologically challenging experience and you just need to shut the harsh realities of the world out for 2h, I can't recommend this one enough!

Today mum and I saw Ladies in Black.....when asked what she thought mum said "Delightful", no swearing, no sex, no violence, just a delightful movie........and she was correct.

The movie is set in the late 50s in Sydney and tells the story of Lisa who takes a summer job in Goode's department store. We meet all the 'Ladies in Black' and the story unfolds from here.

I loved seeing how Sydney looked in the late 50s and loved the fashion and style. They certainly knew how to dress back then and looked fabulous even when having dinner in a restaurant or going to visit friends for a lunch.

The young girl played by Angourie Rice was a pleasure to watch on the screen as was Rachael Taylor. I also loved Julia Ormond, Shane Jacobson, Noni Hazlehurst and Susie Porter.

Kudos to my friend Margaret Gill who has her name on the credits and did a lot of the sewing for Julia and Angourie's outfits. Well done to you I say!

If you are after a nice feel good, easy to watch movie this is the one for you. Mum rated it 8 out of 10, and Im giving it 7

A profound seductive film. For the lovely chemistry between Julia Ormond and Vincent Perez. For Angourie Rice reminding a young Sylvia Plath. For the humor and nostalgic nuances. For the clash between two different worlds and for a form of delicate ingenuity. Short, just a beautiful film.

It is great to return to times when women were treated with respect, when even maritial sex was shocking to a husband (sic), when women always had gloves. I have no idea about Australia, even more about its life in 1950-ties, so this is for me like a discovering a new land. A very interesting one. It is not a perfect movie. It is simply a very nice one to watch.

Anyone seeking a palate cleanser from the latest degenerate streaming content or simply wanting to escape from modern life for a couple of hours could do worse than this light-hearted coming of age drama set in late 50s Australia.

Centring around a dress department in a thriving department store, the tale revolves around a studious young trainee awaiting their exam results and the various women she works with.

If the style of the 50s period appeals (especially it's more glamourous side), this is cinematic comfort food.

The drama is definitely of the lighter variety and the emphasis is on the good natured side of humanity. This is a film about sunny city life, white picket fences, romance, fashion, food, family and friendship.

There are a few pops at the mildly xenophobic attitudes amongst the established Aussies and their 'uncultured' ways, but this is largely free of any lecturing.

There is a slight Pollyanna-ish tone, for sure, but this is designed as escapism, only the most cold-hearted or those indoctrinated to rail against the 'heteronormative patriarchy of white suburbia' could possibly take offence at this uplifting and charming slice-of-life story.

It's so nice to watch a heartwarming movie like this. I feel as though they keep trying to add more and more shock value to movies and there's a point where you just want to go back to wholesome. This was a feel good movie. I think we need to start feeling better.

The casting for this movie was masterful. Shane Jacobson was fabulous as rhe 1950's Aussie dad and Ryan Corr was perfect in his role as the Hungarian "reffo". He owned that character! Julia Ormond played a Slovenian fashion guru to a tee and the sets were marvellous. From the department store in Sydney centre to the flat by the water in Mosman and the suburban, red texture brick house in Granville... spot on. A feel-good movie that has you laughing and reflecting on it for days afterwards.

A young girl keen to get to University in Sydney gets a Christmas job in a large department store and meets up with and befriends other ladies who have their own issues.

Not sentimental, but never straying into any dark territory, this is unashamedly old fashioned and rather sweet. The cast are fine, particularly young Rice who was so good in The Nice Guys and the recent Spiderman films and of course Ormond.

Old fashioned and undemanding stuff from the occasionally great Bruce Beresford eg Breaker Morant

If you want drama: bad luck, this has none. It started happily, the middle part was happy and it ended happily. For many people this is counts as wonderful escapism and I can understand why these people rated it highly. However, for the rest of us who might want some sort of plot, nothing much actually occurs of any interest. At least it could have rained. Even Mills & Boon would have had some tension in the story before the heroine inevitably got her man. The main risk in this film is rigor mortis in its audience.

Our family moved to Sydney in late 1959. We lived in Tempe, and the trams came down the Nepean Highway to the depot not far from our house. Not long afterwards, the trams were sadly replaced by buses.

My first job was in a typing pool, and I bought a black dress with a white collar - a popular work dress at that time. Some of the details in the film really brought back that time to me.

I loved the fact that the film depicted people who liked cultural pursuits such as reading and classical music. When I lived in Sydney, there were some free concerts of classical music at the Sydney Town Hall, and quite a few of my acquaintances went along.

Some of my male friends had surfboards, and went surfing regularly on the weekend. I didn't know any females with surfboards - I don't think that was very common at that time. There was a beach scene in the film, which brought back memories of that time.

I loved the fact that there was a lovely scene of the Blue Mountains. It was a popular place for Sydney people to go for a holiday, especially in winter when they could sit near an open fireplace. In summer we usually went to the beach.

The actors in the film were well-chosen and I really related to the whole film. In fact, I didn't want it to finish. It was great to see an Australian film which doesn't show us as living in the outback, and which shows some positive friendships with European immigrants. Also good to see a film which doesn't rely on the shock value of violence. The sort of people who want to see fast-moving violent films will not find this film to their taste, but I think it could be interesting to a wide audience.

Unfortunately I didn't enjoy this as much as many others seem to have. The design is terrific, but I felt it was allowed to excuse the need for a decent plot line or any character development. The cast is terrific, but none are allowed to get into their roles with any depth. The dialogue is incredibly inane and the lack of any conflict at all really makes the film drag. Every scene is very short, and it's all so ... nice. Could have been much better had it focused more on just one of the women's stories - probably the Noni Haselhurst character which had an interesting back story that was only touched on. Compared with something like Brooklyn this is a bit disappointing, especially given the talent behind it.

Netflix has this in the 'award winning' section. It has Julia Ormind who is always good and Rachael Taylor (big Jessica Jones fan here) so watched. Liked the period setting. There are loads of British period films so an Aussie one was nice to see however it is all downhill from there with cliche an Terrific cliche and lame plots about. Boorish Aussie bloke, battleaxe really has a heart of gold, overbearing mother who treats her 18 year old like a little girl. I kept waiting for something interesting or intriguing but this was about well written as a soap opera... actually not even that good. Even worse, the score is like something Disney rejected as too obvious. The cast do their best to inject some life into it and it does look nice with period Sydney, but the domestic "drama" is so dull! A waste of talent.

What a lovely movie. No exaggerated drama, no obscene language, no excessive sex or nudity. Just delightful and heart warming.

I guess it is Beresford's return to the top and he made something what isn't made in Hollywood's factory. Love to see for me unknown actors and actresses, next to very well known Julia Ormond and Vincent Perez. The screenplay is witt and filled with details unknown for those who know nothing or very little about some of European nationalities and languages, as about Serbia and Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary, Serbo-Croatian language. It is a good picture of the characters who grew up in a different environments. Beautiful ladies make this movie goes around.

I saw this film at a preview with the director, Bruce Beresford, introducing the film. I didn't know quite what to expect but I was thoroughly entertained for two hours. It harks back to a time before I was born in which Australia was a very different place. The time is 1959 and refugees have come Downunder to make new lives for themselves. The changing times are reflected by a group of department store workers - the titular Ladies in Black. The script is amusing and I laughed out loud several times. Residents of Sydney and Melbourne will especially find amusement - the rivalry is not new! Special mention must go to Julia Ormond's Slovenic refugee Magda who works in Model Gowns - she has all the best lines! But everyone is so good I feel bad singling out the lovely Ms Ormond! I must say it's terrific to see a film with no swearing or violence!

Entertaining period piece, notable for the gentle, wistful timbre of both its comedic and dramatic content. There are no villains in this quiet study of the virtues of immigration and integration into the social fabric of late 1950's Australia.

The acting of this very much ensemble cast is first class, but Angourie Rice's Lesley/Lisa, whose character is directly and indirectly involved with most of the episodes, is outstanding as the nerdy holiday sales assistant, desperately seeking to expand her horizons and seek out new possibilities for her future life. Julia Ormond is one of the last people I think I would have expected to see playing Magda, a Slovenian "New Australian" with expertise in high fashion. But she acquits herself very well too, seeing in Lesley/Lisa a kindred spirit, which crosses age and cultural boundaries.

The sets and costumes were all of a very high standard, with the depiction of an isolated island nation on the cusp of being exposed to new technologies (TV) and cultural mores (foods, literatures, films, ideas (paralleling its central character) being never less than realistic. Particular mention needs to be made of the Goode's (representing David Jones Pty Ltd I'm sure) department store set, whose authenticity is caught so well, right down to the early onscreen example of a New Year's Day "door-buster" special sale. If any actual footage from the period was used in production, it is integrated seamlessly.

There are a couple of other sub-stories tied into the main narrative. I liked the one involving Myra, the department store employee, who has an outwardly "difficult" marriage, with her ex-farmer husband. It's not spoiling to say, that it ends with a pleasant twist. I would have liked to have seen a little more substance to the barely touched upon background story to Noni Hazlehurst's floor manager, Miss Cartwright.

Apparently this was a 30 years - in the making labour of love for talented, but inconsistently successful director Bruce Beresford, who has made more than 30 feature films over a 50-year career in Australia and overseas. I think it is his best quality work in quite a while and well worth a look.

I loved this movie! It doesn't pull its punches but it isn't a social commentary film, at all. It's kind of a "warts and all" depiction of changing attitudes in 1959 Australia. Adapted from a best selling novel, it won the 2018 Australian "Oscars" (AACTA) awards for Original Score, Lead Actress, Costumes and Hair and Makeup. Great cast, authentic characters, slice of life storytelling. I give this movie an enthusiastic 9 (superb) out of 10. {Optimistic Drama}

I found this movie on Amazon streaming. It looked like a worthwhile watch but I was unprepared for how good it is. The actors and characterizations are all so perfect for their roles in this story which is a sort of coming of age of a teenage girl in Christmastime 1959.

The story revolves around 16-yr-old 'Leslie' played by teenager Angourie Rice. Part of the ongoing story line is that she doesn't like 'Leslie', it sounds too much like a boy's name, so she gradually has people call her 'Lisa' and eventually her mum and dad get on board.

Some things are backwards in Sydney, summer there is December through February, but Christmas and New Year are still at year end. So in early January they have "summer clearance sales." And Lisa will have a chance to get that dress she covets.

Young Lisa gets a job as a helper of the Ladies in Black, sales ladies at the fancy Goodes store in Sydney. She is bright and hopes to go to college, her mum supports the idea, her dad who works nights as a typesetter for the big Sydney newspaper is skeptical about girls going to college.

With Lisa as the main subject a number of other stories are pursued, each one interesting and entertaining. One of the better movies I have seen recently.

What a pleasant surprise. This is a film that Hallmark could have made.It's their kind of movie. Warm, perhaps a bit predictable but who cares. And it's nice to see a group of good actors from "down under."

Bruce, Bruce, Bruce. What are you doing? This is barely midday TV movie standard. Very slow, extremely predictable, smaltzy, avoiding any of the gritty issues associated with post war immigration. Could have been a lot funnier, grittier, smarter than this bland Disney-esque effort. Maybe if it'd been made in the '70's or '80's you could have said something fresh, but now this was just a poor rehash of any movie covering the topic with none of the serious parts touched on. Strictly a straight to DVD (or the streaming service equivalent) movie.

This film can be enjoyed simply as a feel-good story with beautiful scenery. It also shows a time of change for Australia, as well as for the young heroine Lisa: Anglo- and Irish-Australians meeting Continental European culture; a working-class girl aspiring to go to university; women wanting fulfilling relationships with their husbands, rather than settling for "he's not a bad bloke".

A lovely adaptation of Madeleine St John's novel, The Women in Black, with a great ensemble cast. Beautiful late 1950s costumes and production design recreating 1950s Sydney.

One reviewer criticised the film because "nothing happens", but for the four central characters - Lisa, Fay, Patty, and Magda - it is a summer of significant change.

I enjoyed the movie, some poignant moments and some funny moments. However, some of the expressions used by the characters seemed to be more of recent times than 1959 and I baulked when 'Mr Miles' used the expression 'No Worries'. That started to be used in the late sixties - didn't seem appropriate for 1959.