Released in Britain in the week that the Equalities Act was largely brought into force, this film tells the true story of a 1968 three-week strike for equal pay which indirectly led to the Equal Pay Act of 1970. The scene of the stoppage was the Ford car works in Dagenham near east London, although the actual shooting of the factory scenes took place in a former Hoover factory in Merthyr Tydfil in Wales. At the time, Ford's Essex factory employed 55,000 men who were always involved in stoppages and strikes but this is the story of the 187 women machinists at the River Plant who were demanding regrading.
There are many fine performances here, notably Sally Hawkins (who was so impressive in "Happy Go Lucky") as the feisty strike leader, Geraldine James as her co-worker, Bob Hoskins as the women's shop steward, and Richard Schiff ("The West Wing") as Ford's representative from the United States, but also Miranda Richardson as the Labour Minister Barbara Castle and Rosamund Pike as a senior manager's wife. Sadly though, scriptwriter Billy Ivory and director Nigel Cole ("Calendar Girls") have made too many of the characters one-dimensional or even caricatures, especially all those who opposed the strike, whether managers, trade union officials or civil servants.
There is a lot of attention to period detail in the clothing and the music and the film's theme song, with lyrics by Billy Bragg, is performed by Sandie Shaw, herself a former Dagenham Ford worker. And there's a nice touch at the end of all the credits when an injunction from early in the film is repeated: "Everybody, out!"
There are many fine performances here, notably Sally Hawkins (who was so impressive in "Happy Go Lucky") as the feisty strike leader, Geraldine James as her co-worker, Bob Hoskins as the women's shop steward, and Richard Schiff ("The West Wing") as Ford's representative from the United States, but also Miranda Richardson as the Labour Minister Barbara Castle and Rosamund Pike as a senior manager's wife. Sadly though, scriptwriter Billy Ivory and director Nigel Cole ("Calendar Girls") have made too many of the characters one-dimensional or even caricatures, especially all those who opposed the strike, whether managers, trade union officials or civil servants.
There is a lot of attention to period detail in the clothing and the music and the film's theme song, with lyrics by Billy Bragg, is performed by Sandie Shaw, herself a former Dagenham Ford worker. And there's a nice touch at the end of all the credits when an injunction from early in the film is repeated: "Everybody, out!"