In 2015, a movie arrived that was basically a Spaghetti Western but with sewing machines instead of six-shooters. It was weird. It was colorful. And honestly, it featured one of the most underrated performances of a generation. Kate Winslet in The Dressmaker is a masterclass in how to play a "femme fatale" who actually has a soul, and maybe a very justified grudge.
You’ve probably seen the posters. Winslet stands in the middle of a dusty, parched Australian landscape wearing a red silk gown that looks like it belongs on a Paris runway. That juxtaposition isn't just a marketing gimmick; it is the entire soul of the film.
The Story Most People Get Wrong
People often go into The Dressmaker expecting a lighthearted rom-com because of the title and the presence of a very shirtless Liam Hemsworth. Big mistake. This movie is dark. Like, surprisingly dark. Based on the 2000 novel by Rosalie Ham, the plot follows Myrtle "Tilly" Dunnage (Winslet), a woman who was literally kicked out of her hometown, Dungatar, when she was ten years old. Why? Because the townspeople thought she was a murderer.
She returns twenty years later to take care of her eccentric, "Mad" Molly (played brilliantly by Judy Davis) and to figure out what actually happened on that fateful day in her childhood. She doesn't come back with an apology. She comes back with a Singer sewing machine and an arsenal of haute couture skills she picked up in Paris.
Tilly basically uses fashion as a weapon. She transforms the dowdy, judgmental women of the town into glamazons. She makes them look like movie stars, but she does it to unmask them. It’s about revenge, sure, but it’s also about how people use surface-level beauty to hide the rot underneath.
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Why Winslet’s Performance Hits Different
Kate Winslet is known for being a bit of a chameleon, but Tilly Dunnage required something specific. She had to be vulnerable enough that you’d care about her trauma, but tough enough to burn a whole town down (metaphorically and, well, wait for the ending).
Winslet actually learned how to sew for the role. She didn't want to just "pretend" to use the machine; she spent time with costume designer Margot Wilson to understand the mechanics of 1950s tailoring. You can see it in the way she handles fabric. There’s a scene where she’s draping material at a local rugby match—distracting the players with her sheer "va-va-voom" energy—and her movements are precise. It adds a layer of authenticity that an actor who just showed up for the paycheck wouldn't have.
- The Chemistry: Her scenes with Liam Hemsworth (who plays Teddy) are genuinely sweet, but it’s the mother-daughter dynamic with Judy Davis that steals the show.
- The Accents: Winslet’s Australian accent is notoriously solid here. No "shrimp on the barbie" caricatures.
- The Wardrobe: Every dress Tilly wears is designed to be a middle finger to the dusty, brown environment of Dungatar.
The Couture as a Character
You can't talk about Kate Winslet in The Dressmaker without talking about the clothes. This wasn't a one-designer job. The production actually hired two separate costume designers. Margot Wilson was brought in specifically to create every single one of Winslet’s outfits. Meanwhile, Marion Boyce handled the rest of the cast.
This was a genius move. It visually separates Tilly from everyone else. She looks like she’s stepped out of a different universe. The red "rugby" dress? That was made from a roll of red moiré silk taffeta that Wilson had been carrying around for 20 years, waiting for the right project.
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The film explores "ensemble dressing"—the idea that what we wear is a performance for others. When the townswoman Gertrude (Sarah Snook) gets her first makeover, she doesn't just change her clothes; she changes her social standing. But as the film progresses, we see that the dresses can't fix the internal ugliness of the characters. By the third act, you have women hanging laundry in the middle of a desert while wearing 40 meters of pleated silk organza. It’s absurd, haunting, and totally intentional.
A "Gothic" Australian Masterpiece
Some critics back in 2015 didn't know what to make of the tone. It shifts from slapstick comedy to "Outback Gothic" horror in about six seconds. One minute you’re laughing at Hugo Weaving as a cross-dressing police sergeant with a secret fabric fetish (he's incredible, by the way), and the next, you’re dealing with a tragic death or a revelation about domestic abuse.
That tonal whiplash is exactly why the movie has become a cult classic. It doesn't play by the rules of a standard Hollywood drama. Director Jocelyn Moorhouse described it as "Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven with a sewing machine," and that’s the most accurate description you’ll ever get.
The movie was filmed in Victoria, Australia, specifically around the You Yangs and Horsham. They built the town of Dungatar from scratch on a granite outcrop. The environment feels oppressive—lots of dead trees and yellow dust—which makes the pops of emerald green, mustard yellow, and crimson red from the dresses feel like an invasion.
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Actionable Takeaways for Your Next Rewatch
If you’re going back to watch it (or seeing it for the first time), pay attention to these specific details to get the most out of the experience:
- Watch the Gloves: Tilly wears gloves when she arrives and when she leaves. In between, as she starts to let her guard down and try to "fit in," the gloves disappear. It’s a subtle cue about her emotional armor.
- The Sound Design: Listen to the sound of the sewing machine. It’s often mixed to sound like a heartbeat or a ticking clock.
- The "Paris" References: Tilly mentions training under Madeleine Vionnet. If you look up Vionnet’s real-world work from the 1920s and 30s, you’ll see the inspiration for the bias-cut gowns Winslet wears.
- Look Past the Romance: While the Teddy/Tilly storyline is the hook, the movie is actually about a woman reconciling with her mother. The "revenge" is just the framework.
Kate Winslet in The Dressmaker remains a high-water mark for Australian cinema because it refuses to be boring. It’s a story about how we can’t ever truly go home again, but we can certainly make sure we look fabulous while we’re burning the bridge behind us. If you want a film that’s equal parts style and spite, this is the one.
To dive deeper into the world of Dungatar, your best bet is to find the 10th-anniversary edition of Rosalie Ham's novel, which includes notes on how the "Small-Town-Anywhere" mentality influenced the script's darker turns.