Eager fans lined the red carpet to get a glimpse of local talent gone Hollywood—Liam Hemsworth (joined here by brother and fellow actor, Chris). L’Officiel chatted to the stars of The Dressmaker at the Australian premiere.
Melbourne 19th October 2015, The DRESSMAKER premiere set the Village cinemas at Crown alight with flashbulbs and palpable anticipation (which rose to fever pitch at the emergence of not one, but two Hemsworth boys). Hugo Weaving who plays Sargeant Horatio Farrat in the film adaptation of Rosalie Ham’s darkly comedic novel noted lightheartedly, “You can’t go anywhere with Liam.”
The film marks a return to the director’s chair for award-winning Australian director, Jocelyn Moorhouse who is best known for 1991 film Proof and 1995’s How to Make an American Quilt. The madcap revenge plot set in the 1950s in a wretched little Australian town stars Kate Winslet as Tilly, a haute couturist who returns from Paris after 20 years to get even with the scheming locals.
Murder, spousal abuse, accidental deaths…there is a cold dark vein in this energetic, colourful, genre-defying dramatic comedy. The glamorous period costumes that Tilly whips up for eager locals look particularly delicious set against dusty, empty streets. Judy Davis lends considerable hilarity to her portrayal of Tilly’s demented mother, Mad Molly.
“There are some films you do where the tone is complex. It’s not a naturalistic piece, it’s very theatrical in tone,” Weaving told L’Officiel. After debuting at the Toronto Film Festival, the film sharply divided critics, though without a doubt, there are genuine laughs to be had here and the performances are pitch perfect. The cast all expressed their pride in the production which was shot exclusively in Victoria, while the town of Dungatar is set in the scrubby bush land of the You Yangs, just an hour out of Melbourne.
“You can’t base your performance on a real person,” continued Weaving. “He’s a country cop who is a cross-dresser. So you do all your research [puts on ’50s radio voice] ‘cross-dressing in the ’50s in Australia.’ There are some very wonderful photos.”
On the new crop of Australian actors in the film, especially the luminous and ‘everywhere right now’ Sarah Snook, who plays local dag gone glam, Gertrude, Weaving says, “I think actors these days are getting better—they’re much more in-tune to acting in film than I was when starting out. We didn’t have much training— but they’re also more switched on.”
“We’re a double act tonight,” laughed Sue Maslin as she approached L’Officiel with director, Jocelyn Moorhouse. When asked about bringing together impressive female talent to make the film, Maslin replied, “They were the best people for the job. There’s no other director, it just had to be Joss. We brought in the best, like the costume designers.” And of course the cast in this film brought their talents and star power to the fictional world of Dungatar. How did the crew enjoy working with Liam? “Well, we didn’t scream every time he came on set,” Moorhouse insists. What about his shirtless scene? Maslin leans in, “The women, and some of the men were playing it very cool. There were a lot of smiles.”
One of the most joyously funny lines in the film is Mad Molly’s quip that Teddy (Hemsworth’s pure-hearted country bloke) has a choice of spinster (Winslet) or hag (Davis), it’s not a judgment on the women but rather, them owning the labels and burning them with mirth. Maslin,”We have an array of different types of women in this movie. I am really proud of that, how often do you really get that chance?” Moorhouse is also realistic about what having a major star (Kate Winslet) signed meant for the film, “She really put her star power behind us, it really helped. It might have been difficult to have it made without her.” Maslin chimed in, “It’s such an ambitious film, there’s a period setting, the costumes, locations, having an actress of her calibre, and Judy and Liam Hemsworth…. dream cast.”
And finally, the softly spoken, gracious Liam Hemsworth, 25. He plays the ill-fated love interest to Kate Winslet’s Tilly. Teddy is captain of the country football team and an all-round heart-of-gold local boy. “The character that I play is very similar to my grandfather, when I held the script, every line that I read reminded me of my grandfather. In a big way it was very easy for me to play this character, I felt very comfortable in [the role].”
Hemsworth, though the massive star of the Hunger Games franchise, defers to the senior talent in this film, “Kate, Hugo, Judy are all amazing actors and I was very lucky to work with them. It was a tremendous opportunity for me and I had a lot of fun working on this film. Very proud.” Hugo Weaving joked earlier that so many young Australian actors are running to L.A these days, Hemsworth included. “I have a few Australian friends in L.A, that’s where I am based right now but I barely ever work there. I’m based there then go and work [on location] somewhere else in America or the world. Everything starts in L.A and you go from there.” The trip for The Dressmaker premiere in his hometown is bittersweet, his parents and older brother, Chris, were also at the premiere. “It’s a very short trip. I’m moving so much all the time, it’s always nice to come back to Australia.”
The Dressmaker (Universal) will be in Australian cinemas October 29
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photos of Hemsworth at premiere courtesy APL PHOTOGRAPHY – www.aplphotography.com.au #aplphotography
