Metacritic reviews

The film boasts enough manic energy and straight-up weirdness to keep you entertained before overstaying its welcome in the final act.

Given the sheer number of threads that Moorhouse (who adapted the novel with her writer-director husband, P.J. Hogan) keeps in play, it’s surprising how well The Dressmaker coheres, albeit more along narrative lines than tonal ones.

It’s still a giggle, largely thanks to Tilly’s cantankerous mother (Judy Davis) and the camp local cop (Hugo Weaving).

Its admittedly interesting source material, but the movie’s tone is all over the place and not in a good way.

That The Dressmaker remains watchable in any sense is thanks in large part to a cast who give the material that’s way beneath them far better treatment than it deserves.

Fine performances by Kate Winslet, Liam Hemsworth and Judy Davis help matters a bit, but the final product is so oddly cobbled together that the entire thing should be left hanging on the rack.

The film is a tonally uneven, genre-shifting hurricane of a thing, wildly careering off the rails and smashing into everything in its view.

The film’s major blunder – it’s got plenty of competition – is mistaking Kate Winslet for Rita Hayworth.

Despite Winslet's stunning cowgirl fashionista, The Dressmaker is a whole lot of weirdness packed into a story that stumbles around like an emotionally-inept drunk.

The frequent contemptuousness the film displays toward its characters keeps the audience at arm's length.