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Ladies in Black

Ladies in Black

Comedy · Drama · 2018

Adapted from the bestselling novel by Madeleine St John, Ladies in Black is an alluring and tender-hearted comedy drama about the lives of a group of department store employees in 1959 Sydney.

Movie details

Ladies in Black

2018 Comedy · Drama 1h 49m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.7 / 10

Community rating

Adapted from the bestselling novel by Madeleine St John, Ladies in Black is an alluring and tender-hearted comedy drama about the lives of a group of department store employees in 1959 Sydney.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Ladies in Black?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Bruce Beresford

Written by

Bruce Beresford · Sue Milliken

Rachael Taylor

Rachael Taylor

Fay

Julia Ormond

Julia Ormond

Magda

Angourie Rice

Angourie Rice

Lisa

Ryan Corr

Ryan Corr

Rudi

Nicholas Hammond

Nicholas Hammond

Mr. Ryder

Vincent Perez

Vincent Perez

Stefan

Shane Jacobson

Shane Jacobson

Mr. Miles

Court is in session

Put Ladies in Black on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.