Made in Dagenham

Directed by: Nigel Cole

Written by: William Ivory

It's hard to believe that as recently as the 1960s (and, in many ways, still today) that there was a major differential in pay between men and women. Although this discrepancy still exists, the formal legal structures that legitimized it have been destroyed. And some of that change began with the women who worked in the Ford factory in Dagenham.

When, as part of a new collective bargaining agreement, the Ford car company attempts to classify women's work as "unskilled labor," Rita O'Grady (Hawkins) and the other women at her factory go on strike. At first it is slow going, and as missed paychecks begin to add up, the solidarity of the union begins to break down. There is pressure from almost every side to give in - from the factory managers to husbands and children. But, when they get the attention of Britain's Employment Secretary, things begin to turn their way.

It's hard for me to separate my personal feelings and my analytical thoughts on this film. Suffice to say that the movie is well-made, but falls short of great.

On the positive side, it exposed a very real problem that still lingers in our society. It also showed the effects of a labor strike on the lives of those involved, not just in terms of work but also in terms of family life. The acting was solid, especially from the leads.

On the negative side, the film struggled to maintain a solid tone. At points there are moments of lightness and humor, at others moments of deadly seriousness. The film also built up too large of a cast to maintain, and so many characters remained static in the background, leading to character-story references that went unexplored.

I enjoyed the film, but I wouldn't say that anyone should go very far out of their way to see it.

Surrogates

Directed by: Jonathan Mostow

Written by: Michael Ferris, John Brancato (screenplay)

Written by: Robert Venditti, Brett Weldele (graphic novel)

There's been a rash of graphic-novel-to-film adaptations lately. Some are good, some are poor, and some fall right into the middle of mediocrity. "Surrogates" falls squarely into that final category.

In the future, people rarely go outside of their homes. Instead, they send robots - the titular "surrogates" - to do their dirty work with no risk of physical harm or death. But when the son of the inventor of the surrogates is somehow killed via his surrogate, detective Tom Greer (Willis) is assigned to investigate. What he unravels, though, is a scheme that goes far beyond a murder scheme to the battle between authenticity and artificiality.

This film had a lot of potential. And the opening sequence - a montage explaining the history of the robotic surrogates - lives up to that potential. Things fall apart after that.

There are a few interesting twists - such as who is behind this plot to destroy the surrogate network. But, given the limited cast of characters, it's not too hard to figure out that it's got to be one of them. The moment when the audience realizes that the first murder is only a small part of a much larger conspiracy adds a bit of excitement at a crucial moment, even if that plot point is revealed in the trailer.

Once again, the one and only Bruce Willis falls short of a great performance. His character falls flat, considering that his purpose is to show the dynamism inherent in humanity. He only shows moments of life, and most of those are action sequences. Moments in this film that require any form of emotion are lost with Willis.

Most importantly - for a movie that is supposed to call to mind the need for true human contact - the film failed to make the audience care about any of the characters. This prevents the theme of movie to become fully realized.

Ultimately, the film "Surrogates" felt itself like a surrogate for a better film.