If The Sapphires is occasionally feel-good to the point of a sugar-rush, cut it some slack. The rewards of this Australian homage to a girl group rising to greater glory in the face of oppressive 1960s Aborigine policies speak for themselves.
Director Wayne Blair bangs the drum for our empathy by straightforwardly depicting Australia’s odd and cruel practice of forced adoption. Aboriginal children were basically kidnapped and put in either new families or boarding schools on the assumption that this would improve their future rather than tear them apart. Here, it’s Kay, who has fairer skin than her sisters left behind. When the time comes for the sisters to break out of their parochial prison of opportunity and set out for entertaining the troops in Vietnam, they find Kay with her white foster parents. The contrast is stark and Kay’s ambivalence striking. Before we know it they’re reunited but not without a struggle.
Sporting a spot-on soundtrack of 60s soul tunes and the terrific voice of Julie (Australian pop star Jessica Mauboy), The Sapphires has many goosebumps moments of exuberance. Largely given its energy by the music and the lead performance of Chris O’Dowd (Bridesmaids, This Is 40) as the group’s no-nonsense yet empathetic manager, the film’s occasional self-smitten tone creates a few speedbumps along the way. When we get to Vietnam the subtext feels especially unreal. Characters are broadly drawn, plot developments hunker around the corny but are well-saved by O’Dowd’s going all-in with his character. Playing a drunken talent contest emcee, he at first admires the sisters’ bravery and talent in presenting a few country and-western songs. Then comes the idea to change their name (Cummerangunja Songbirds won’t cut it) and their repertoire (soul music, unlike country contains hope, he tells them). Before we know it, O’Dowd puts his foot down and after simmering a few ego skirmishes amoung the sisters, they’re on their way to a watershed trip to ‘Nam. Once they arrive a promoter flack is their first of many obstacles but this group is so rock-ribbed determined their bond emerges mostly unscathed.
Co-screenwriter Tony Briggs is the son of one of the real-life Sapphires on which the film is based. No original recordings exist, so forget trying to make a comparison. If the heyday of Volt-Stax and Motown is at all to your liking, this is a must-see film.
3 1/2 Sugar-Pie Honey-Bunches (out of 5)