The Sapphires

I have ticked off another entry on my bucket list. Actually, I don't have a bucket list, but if I were to have one, I could put a big tick next to “Walk down a red carpet”. Oh, that's another lie: it was blue, not red...but you get the idea. Last Monday I headed to the 56^th BFI London Film Festival and hit the red/blue carpet for the UK Premiere of The Sapphires, starring Chris O'Dowd (Bridesmaids). And you know the best bit about it? I got free Icelandic bottled water and G&B chocolate. The perks of being a film critic...

The Sapphires (hence why the red carpet was sparkly-blue) is based on the true story of four Aboriginal women who formed a soul group and headed out to 1960's Vietnam to entertain the American troops stationed there. The Sapphires (based on a play of the same name) is a comedy/drama with plenty of musical numbers thrown in for good measure and features some really energetic performances from its cast. O'Dowd as the Sapphires' manager achieves an endearing balance between comedic charm and manic energy and his humorous delivery of lines made me laugh-out-loud on several occasions. His enthusiasm lifted scenes which would otherwise have felt flat and un-engaging, whilst demonstrating an emotional realism which I hadn't seen from him before.

The sisters (played by Deborah Mailman, Jessica Mauboy, Shari Sebbens and Miranda Tapsell) all approached their roles with a similar level of liveliness, although at times there seemed to be a lack of believable chemistry within the group. For a film about family and triumphing against adversity, this was a problem and these themes felt rather undermined by the lack of group dynamics. The cast and director (Wayne Blair) spoke before the film started and emphasised the film's political nature and its comments on race and racism in Australia. This agenda, however, seemed to have been addressed on a far-too-superficial level and the film's message may have been somewhat lost.

Early on in the film, for example, there's a scene where two of the sisters try to flag down a cab to get into town and it drives straight past them. “What's his problem?!”, exclaims Cynthia.“It's because we're black, stupid” replies Gail. Cynthia hits back with the line “No, it's 'cos you're ugly”. Yes, the line is funny and yes, a film following an Australian soul group belting out hits such as 'I Heard It Through the Grapevine' and 'Soul Man' is hardly going to be the most profound comment on Australian race-relations, but with its agenda so explicitly set-up, it felt a bit too superficial.

The musical numbers were certainly toe-tapping and the singing (much of which was done by the cast themselves) felt very authentic. As a comedy/musical, The Sapphires works well and makes for entertaining viewing. O'Dowd produces a sterling performance and the rest of the cast shine individually, although poor ensemble dynamics aren't helped by a script which is, at times, uneven. More fundamentally, there is a problem with how it approaches its politics and it could have been more emotionally-charged and driven. But, perhaps, this isn't the point and The Sapphires should be enjoyed for what it is: good-natured fun. 

Clapperboard Rating: * * *

The Sapphires is released nationwide on 7th November 2012