The Sapphires (film)

The Sapphires
Four woman in sparkling blue dresses, a smiling man with a mustache wearing a red dinner, stands behind them. Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Wayne Blair
Produced by	Rosemary Blight Kylie Du Fresne
Screenplay by	Keith Thompson Tony Briggs
Based on	The Sapphires by Tony Briggs
Starring	Chris O'Dowd Deborah Mailman Jessica Mauboy Shari Sebbens Miranda Tapsell Tory Kittles Eka Darville
Music by	Cezary Skubiszewski
Cinematography	Warwick Thornton
Edited by	Dany Cooper
Production company	Goalpost Pictures
Distributed by	Hopscotch Films (Australia) The Weinstein Company (US)
Release dates	19 May 2012 (2012-05-19) (Cannes) 9 August 2012 (2012-08-09) (Australia) 22 March 2013 (2013-03-22) (United States)
Running time	103 minutes 98 minutes (US release)
Country	Australia
Language	English
Budget	$8–10 million
Box office	$20,423,628

The Sapphires is a 2012 Australian musical comedy-drama film produced by Goalpost Pictures and distributed by Hopscotch Films, based on the 2004 stage play of the same name which is loosely based on a true story. The film is directed by Wayne Blair and written by Keith Thompson and Tony Briggs, the latter of whom wrote the play.

The Sapphires centres around four indigenous women, Gail (Deborah Mailman), Julie (Jessica Mauboy), Kay (Shari Sebbens) and Cynthia (Miranda Tapsell), who are discovered by a talent scout (Chris O'Dowd), and form a music group named The Sapphires, travelling to Vietnam in 1968 to sing for troops during the war. Production began in 2010, with the casting of the four members of The Sapphires, and filming taking place in and around Albury in Australia and Vietnam during August and September 2011.

The Sapphires made its world premiere at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival on 19 May 2012 during its out of competition screenings, was theatrically released in Australia on 9 August and received a limited release in the United States on 22 March 2013.

Plot

In 1968 Australia, Gail and Cynthia head into town for a talent contest and their young sister, Julie is forbidden to go because she has a child and is too young, until she bribes a fellow neighbour to take her into town. An alcoholic, Irish talent scout, Dave Lovelace, is scolded by his boss for being late despite him sleeping in his car that is near work. After the girls lose the talent contest, even with Julie coming in, Dave gives Gail her guitar back and as Dave is about to leave, Julie hands him a piece of paper, showing that the troops need singers for Vietnam. Soon, Dave goes to make a call and he says they have been accepted a spot to audition in Melbourne. Back at their place, Gail, Cynthia and Julie's mother tells him he can take them but Julie until Julie's father tells him not to worry about her. Advised by their grandmother, they meet up with their cousin Kay, who had been living in Melbourne for 10 years after the government took her because she had qualified as a white person. She rejects the offer of joining them, but later changes her mind and meets up at their uncle's place. After days of training their moves, they are almost ready until Julie gives Cynthia a letter from her fiance that he is going to call it off. Despite that, they manage to audition very well and Kay comes up with the group's name, The Sapphires, after looking at Cynthia's engagement ring.

The Sapphires are a success with the crowds, but infighting among the women threatens to tear the group apart: Gail acts as the group's aggressive matriarch. Kay struggles with her multi-ethnic identity because 10 years earlier, she was taken away by government officials because her light skin made her a good candidate for assimilation into white culture. Julie proves to be the group's best voice with a shot at a singing career. Dave and Gail begin a romance, but his reckless behavior and a personal secret push Gail's patience to the limit.

When The Sapphires do another gig, Cynthia drinks with some of the men and is not allowed to go on again. Later, Dave and Gail talk a little before Dave hands her a letter, telling her to open it later and are about to kiss when they are soon caught in the crossfire of war and Dave disappears in the chaos and gets shot. The girls manage to escape in choppers. At a home, Gail reads Dave's letter and realizes he wanted to propose to her, but it was her choice. The women band together and finish their tour. Dave survives and Gail is reunited with him in a Vietnam hospital. The Sapphires return to Australia and Gail and Dave announce to the family that they plan to marry. The Sapphires give a joyous performance for their friends and family in the yard of their home.

Cast

• Chris O'Dowd as Dave Lovelace
• Deborah Mailman as Gail
  • Tanika Lonesborough as Young Gail
• Jessica Mauboy as Julie
  • Miah Madden as Young Julie
• Shari Sebbens as Kay
  • Nioka Brennan as Young Kay
• Miranda Tapsell as Cynthia
  • Ava Jean Miller-Porter as Young Cynthia
• Don Battee as Myron
• Tory Kittles as Robby
• Eka Darville as Hendo
• Kylie Belling as Geraldine
• Judith Lucy as Merle
• Georgina Haig as Glynis
• Rhys Muldoon as Uncle Ed
• Barry Southgate and A. Spencer Davis as Two Singing Sailors
• Meyne Wyatt as Jimmy Middleton
  • Carlin Briggs as Young Jimmy
• Beau Brady as a Marine Sergeant

Production

Based on Tony Briggs' 2004 play of the same name commissioned by and debuted at Melbourne Theatre Company, the film was first announced in June 2010. The screenplay was co-written by Briggs and Keith Thompson. Filming primarily took place in New South Wales, at Albury, (and its surrounding towns Corowa, Howlong, Culcairn, Henty and Morven), with additional shooting taking place in Windsor, Camden, Summerhill, Newtown, and Canal Road Studios in Leichhardt, between August and September 2011. The rest of the film's production was moved to Vietnam, for a limited shoot.

Casting

Deborah Mailman, who played Cynthia McCrae in the original 2004 play, stars as Gail McCrae in the film.

On 2 June 2010, a press release announced that an open casting call had begun for The Sapphires, and that Goalpost Pictures Australia were searching for "four young Indigenous women, aged 16–28, to play the leading roles of the four members of [the title singing group]". The audition process involved submitting an audition tape to the casting website by 31 July 2010. Australian singer Casey Donovan, who had starred as Cynthia McCrae in the musical's 2010 production, auditioned for that part, but was unsuccessful, with the role instead going to newcomer Miranda Tapsell. Deborah Mailman, who also starred as Cynthia in the original 2004 production of the musical, landed the role of Gail McCrae, and Jessica Mauboy joined the film, being cast as Gail's sister Julie. In August 2011, the roles of all four group members were officially announced, when another newcomer, Shari Sebbens, joined the cast as Kay McCrae. Chris O'Dowd was added to the film, playing the role of Dave, who discovers The Sapphires.

Soundtrack

Main article: The Sapphires (soundtrack)

Mauboy performing "Ngarra Burra Ferra" at the 2013 Mbantua Festival in Alice Springs, Northern Territory with Aboriginal Australian students from Yipirinya State Primary School, of which Mauboy is the official ambassador.

The original soundtrack was released on 27 July 2012 by Sony Music. It features the vocals of Jessica Mauboy, Jade Macrae, Lou Bennett, Juanita Tippens and Darren Percival, with Mauboy singing in ten of the sixteen songs. An original track called "Gotcha", co-written by Mauboy, Ilan Kidron, and Louis Schoorl, was released as a single on 13 July. Two weeks after its chart debut, The Sapphires soundtrack hit number one on the ARIA Album Chart and the ARIA Australian Albums Chart.

Release

The film had its world premiere on 19 May at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, at the midnight out-of-competition screening. Following the premiere, the audience in attendance gave the cast and crew a ten-minute standing ovation. It premiered in Australia at the Melbourne International Film Festival on 2 August, with its cinematic release on 9 August and distributed by Hopscotch Films. Entertainment One will handle distribution in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Canada, while Lusomundo, Diaphana, and Lev Films will release the film in Portugal, France, and Israel, respectively. The Weinstein Company bought the rights to distribute the film in the United States and other countries.

Home media

The US release of the DVD attracted controversy as the result of the design for the DVD's cover. The artwork placed actor Chris O'Dowd prominently in the foreground, with the four female stars appearing in the background and coloured with a blue wash. The decision was described as both sexist and racist, with O'Dowd describing the decision as "ill-judged, insensitive and everything the film wasn't". Anchor Bay expressed regret for any "unintentional upset caused" and said different artwork was being considered for future orders.

Reception

Box office

In Australia, the film was the highest-earning Australian film on its opening weekend, grossing $2,320,000 from 275 cinemas. News.com.au said it was the strongest first weekend for an Australian made film since Tomorrow, When the War Began, which earned $3,860,000 upon its 2010 release. As of 31 October 2012, the film had grossed AU$14,215,596 at the Australian box office.

The film was far less successful in international markets than in its Australian release, with roughly $5m from all international releases combined versus over $14 million in its Australian release alone.

In France, its opening did not reach the top 10. The film opened at #13 with just 35,786 admissions from 162 screens over its first week (25,847 over five days.) It was dubbed a "Le Flop" by French box office website Le Box Office Pour Les Nuls. In its first major English-language opening outside of Australia—the U.K.—the film opened at #7 and to a little under 25% of the box office it earned in its Australian opening weekend, on a roughly similar number of screens (279 vs. 233). The film exited U.K. theatres after just 5 weeks in release with a final box office take of £680,643—equaling roughly AU$1m. The U.K. final box office takings were less than 1/14 of the film's Australian final box office takings. In its United States release, where the film only appeared in the top 20 for one weekend (at #19, April 5–7, 2013), the film completed its run with just under $2.5m, and releases in Germany and the Netherlands yielded under $100k each.

Critical response

The Sapphires received positive reviews from Cannes, dubbed as the Australian version of Dreamgirls (2006), another film based on a play about a '60s girl group. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 92% based on reviews from 127 critics; their average rating was calculated as 6.9/10. Metacritic gives the film a "generally positive" rating of 67% based on reviews from 30 critics.

Guy Lodge from Variety said Chris O'Dowd's "dorky-dirty warmth and manic performance energy... keeps the proceedings bouncy even when the script loses its own fizz." Mark Adams of Screen International called O'Dowd an "increasingly charismatic screen presence" who "helps give the film an edginess, spontaneity and some real laugh-out-loud moments." Eric Kohn from IndieWire gave it a C-, believing that it "belongs on Broadway more than the big screen".

Henry Barnes of The Guardian gave the film three stars out of five, calling it "a sweet 'n' dumb feelgood bopper." Brad Brevet of Rope of Silicon gave it a B-, summing it up as, "good music, good performances and good fun and should play well across several demographic quadrants."

Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph gave the "workaday Australian comedy" three stars, calling it "uncomplicated" but praising Chris O'Dowd for elevating every scene he is in. Ross Miller of Thoughts On Film gave the film three stars, saying that it "may not break any especially new ground or end up in a place you're not expecting but along the way it's a genuinely pleasant watch."

Fiona Williams of SBS awarded the film three-and-a-half stars out of five, commenting that "There's much to love, lots to like... and enough roof-lifting musical numbers to make up for the dodgy bits."

Academic Bruno Starrs makes the argument that the film's Aboriginal protagonists undergo a journey in which they learn the importance of choosing the protest songs of black Soul over the white coloniser's "whining" Country and Western songs. Their song choices are an assertion of Indigenous sovereignty and Starrs argues that the Aboriginal Australian 'Welcome to Country' is twice subverted to reinforce this theme, firstly in the Cummeragunja pub and secondly in war-torn Vietnam."

Awards and nominations

Ceremony	Category	Recipient	Result
45th AWGIE Awards	Best Feature Film (screenplay) – Adaptation	Keith Thompson Tony Briggs	Won
	Most Outstanding Script of 2012		Won
26th ARIA Music Awards	Best Original Soundtrack/Cast/Show Album		Nominated
48th Chicago International Film Festival	Gold Hugo for Best Feature	Wayne Blair	Nominated
35th Denver Film Festival	People's Choice Award for Best Narrative Feature		Won
AACTA Awards (2nd)	Best Film	Rosemary Blight, Kylie du Fresne	Won
	Best Direction	Wayne Blair	Won
	Best Adapted Screenplay	Keith Thompson	Won
		Tony Briggs	Won
	Best Lead Actor	Chris O'Dowd	Won
	Best Lead Actress	Deborah Mailman	Won
	Best Supporting Actress	Jessica Mauboy	Won
	Best Cinematography	Warwick Thornton	Won
	Best Editing	Dany Cooper	Won
	Best Sound	Andrew Plain	Won
		Bry Jones	Won
		Pete Smith	Won
		Ben Osmo	Won
		John Simpson	Won
	Best Production Design	Melinda Doring	Won
	Best Costume Design	Tess Schofield	Won
	Best Visual Effects	James Rogers	Nominated
Deadly Awards 2013	Film of the Year		Won

External links

• The Sapphires at IMDb
• The Sapphires at Box Office Mojo
• The Sapphires at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Sapphires at Metacritic
• Hopscotch films press release