Writers: Tony Briggs, Keith Thompson
Stars: Deborah Mailman, Chris O'Dowd, Jessica Mauboy, Miranda Tapsell, Shari Sebbens
The Sapphires is a fun, entertaining, politically correct film that is sure to go down as an Aussie classic. I liked it, but I feel it could have been so much better. With the enormous talent of the cast, particularly Deborah Mailman, I could see this story as a masterpiece of cinema. Wayne Blair managed to turn it into a good film, but it's a film that only dabbles into certain issues. We get a glimpse of Australian history and racism, a glimpse of romance, a glimpse of drama, a fair amount of comedy, and a helluva lot of soul music. The problem with this film, and indeed a lot of modern Australian films, is that they've become too Hollywood. The Aussie accents are a little overdone, the Aussie sayings are a little out of place, and all of this is done for the benefit of foreign audiences. It stuck out like a sore thumb to me.
