Watched at the Cannes film festival. I really wanted this film to work, the audience were willing it to work and though the credits when rolled were met with a rapturous applause post screening, I was left feeling bitterly disappointed. Though comparisons will be made to a past Australian stand-out film at Cannes "Strictly Ballroom" the comparisons will be unjustified for this is a poor by comparison and would never merit repeat viewing. Though O'Dowd is very funny and his and his co- performers act their hearts out this film was sadly flawed from the start because of the poorly developed/written script that sinks to finger down the throat nausea inducing bathetic levels of cheesiness to try and tack on a race issue badge of merit, which is at best highly unnecessary and at worst deeply insulting, for example Martin Luther King speech. Scripting by the numbers doesn't work, a real shame for all the actors involved, as if the script was worked longer in development with a couple of spoons full of honey less, this film could have potentially been highly enjoyable.
Review of The Sapphires
