Basically a cross be tween “The Full Monty” and “Norma Rae,” “Made in Dagenham” is an unlikely crowd-pleaser of a docu-dramedy about female workers who campaigned for pay parity with men at a Ford Motor factory in the suburbs of London in 1968.
Nigel Cole, who directed two of the better efforts in this peculiarly British “Full Monty” subgenre (“Saving Grace” and “Calendar Girls”) deploys an excellent cast headed by the hugely appealing Sally Hawkins (“Happy-Go-Lucky”).
Hawkins plays Rita, a perky line worker who is tapped to attend a meeting with upper management by the longtime union rep (Bob Hoskins).
Our heroine (a composite of several real-life people) surprises everyone by demanding that the 187 women — all assigned to sew car seats — be paid the same wages as the men doing comparably skilled jobs at the huge plant, which employed 55,000 people at the time.
Neither management nor the union’s leadership takes Rita’s complaint seriously until she calls a strike. When it drags on, this begins to stir resentment among Rita’s male colleagues, including even her husband (Daniel Mays).
Fearing pay parity (the women were paid far less) would establish a precedent for its plants around the world, Ford sends a high-ranking executive from Detroit (Richard Schiff, excellent), who threatens to shut down Dagenham altogether if Sally and her pals don’t stop this equality nonsense.
Eventually, Britain’s secretary of state for employment and productivity becomes involved in the simmering dispute — and, to Ford’s horror, she happens to be the first female cabinet minister, the tough-as-nails Barbara Castle (Miranda Richardson).
Without ever losing sight of the serious issues involved, Cole manages to keep things relatively light-hearted.
Because they work in a factory that isn’t air-conditioned, the women often have to strip down to their undies during the summer, and there is not a little talk about sex.
This may be the most fashion-conscious movie ever about organized labor. Jaime Winstone particularly grabs attention as a striker in hot pants whose ambitions as a bikini model Rita employs in the service of the cause.
Sally Hawkins is the heart and soul of “Made in Dagenham,” but another actress to watch for is the equally wonderful Rosamund Pike. She steals every scene she’s in as the sympathetic wife of Rita’s sexist boss (Rupert Graves).