By Cara Nash
There’s a moment early in The Sapphires when sisters, Gail and Cynthia, try to hitch a lift. When a ride cruises right past them, Gail laments, “It’s because we’re black!” to which her sassy sister replies, “No, stupid, it’s because you’re ugly.” This scene set the upbeat and often very funny tone for Wayne Blair’s debut feature, which was retooled for the big screen from Tony Briggs’ hit stage play about an all-Aboriginal female soul group in 1968. “We really wanted to give the film its own voice,” Briggs told FilmInk in 2012. “We had to stick to the heart of what the play was about, and what people loved, which really wasn’t that difficult, but we also had to develop a lot more of the characters. One of our biggest challenges was that we had so much material from the play, but that’s a pretty good problem to have!”
Showing off their musical chops at the local pub’s talent quest, Gail (Deborah Mailman) and Cynthia (Miranda Tapsell), are shunned by the bigoted townsfolk, but make an impression on the pub’s MC, a scruffy, boozy but boyishly charming Irish musician named Dave (Bridesmaids’ Chris O’Dowd, who proves a dynamite casting coup). When youngest sister, Julie (Jessica Mauboy), rocks up with an ad in hand calling for performers to entertain the troops in Vietnam, Dave agrees to manage the girls. Recruiting their long-estranged cousin, Kay (Shari Sebbens), they soon find themselves jetting overseas.
Just like the soul classics that tear up the stage, this is infectious, celebratory storytelling packed with moments of feel-good charm. “I was on a roll with my second album when I was presented with the script,” Jessica Mauboy told FilmInk upon the film’s theatrical release. “I cried and fell in love with it. I had to read it again, and I cried a second time! It was a really beautiful story that I couldn’t let go, and as much as I had on with work, I knew that I had to do it.” Playing out in the beautiful, vibrant world created by Warwick Thornton’s cinematography, there’s a surprising but welcome looseness to the film, especially when the story hits Vietnam and chugs along to a road trip feel. The actresses layer their performances with spunk, heart and a little bit of hurt. The politics of the time are largely revealed via the relationship between Gail and Kay, which boils up and bursts in a scarring, heartbreaking moment. Blair doesn’t shy away from history’s tougher notes, but he’s the deft type of filmmaker who trumps a story over a message. And rest assured, this is one irresistible story.