This film is loosely based on fact - the main characters are fictional composites which is a disappointment and questions many of the plot elements.
Problem is that nothing in this film feels fresh, it may all be basically true, but in coming years after the Full Monty it feels as though the main elements have been seen before :
1) The Ford promotional film at the start (Full Monty - Sheffield) 2) Fighting against the national organisation, won over by an impassioned speech (Calendar Girls - the WI) 3) Debiliting illness in key characters (Calendar Girls, Brassed Off) 4) Abandoning the family for the campaign (Calendar Girls, Brassed Off)
The film lacks humour and what warmth that there is feels contrived and manipulative. The key character, Rita, turns into the heroine with almost no credibility - there is no prior evidence of her thoughtfulness and ability to speak so eloquently in public. On discovering that she is a composite character I felt cheated - it would have been more interesting to show the 3 or 4 characters who actually drove the strike, and how they supported and developed each other.
If you investigate the real strike, it turned out that the workers didn't really achieve real parity with the men until 1984. Ford no longer make cars in the UK.
Overall, a disappointment.
Problem is that nothing in this film feels fresh, it may all be basically true, but in coming years after the Full Monty it feels as though the main elements have been seen before :
1) The Ford promotional film at the start (Full Monty - Sheffield) 2) Fighting against the national organisation, won over by an impassioned speech (Calendar Girls - the WI) 3) Debiliting illness in key characters (Calendar Girls, Brassed Off) 4) Abandoning the family for the campaign (Calendar Girls, Brassed Off)
The film lacks humour and what warmth that there is feels contrived and manipulative. The key character, Rita, turns into the heroine with almost no credibility - there is no prior evidence of her thoughtfulness and ability to speak so eloquently in public. On discovering that she is a composite character I felt cheated - it would have been more interesting to show the 3 or 4 characters who actually drove the strike, and how they supported and developed each other.
If you investigate the real strike, it turned out that the workers didn't really achieve real parity with the men until 1984. Ford no longer make cars in the UK.
Overall, a disappointment.