Made in Dagenham – 2010 | 113 mins | Drama, Comedy | Colour

Plot Synopsis

Made in Dagenham was inspired by the Radio 4 programme “The Reunion,” which reunited the Ford Dagenham sewing machinists who took industrial action in 1968 and led to the introduction of an Equal Pay Act becoming law in 1970. “Calendar Girls” director Nigel Cole is in similarly raucous yet polite territory and takes the populist feelgood approach of Brassed Off (1996), The Full Monty (1997) and Billy Elliot (2000) to industrial history. The script remains fairly true to the original story and creates an amalgam of all the workers in Sally Hawkins sassy character, whose life and that of her fellow workers undergoes moments of humour and heartbreak, but the tale is predictably clichéd and the need for populism leads to a lack of subtlety teetering on the edge of Carry On territory. Sally Hawkins is wonderful as the strike’s reluctant yet increasingly politicised leader, while Miranda Richardson steals every scene with a credible portrayal of cabinet minister Barbara Castle.

Dagenham, 1968. The Ford Motor factory is the industrial heart of Essex, England, employing 55,000. While the men work on the cars in the gleaming new main plant 187 women toil, sewing car seats in the dilapidated old 1920s river plant – where rain regularly falls through the corrugated iron roof and which becomes a sweat shop in summer. Although far from the Swinging Sixties of Carnaby Street, life for the women of Dagenham is tinged with the sounds and sights of the optimistic era, heard on their radios and seen on their TV sets. Rita O’Grady reflects that upbeat era, along with her friends and co-workers Sandra, Eileen, Brenda, Monica and Connie, who laugh in the face of their poor conditions. That is until the female workers are re-graded “unskilled,” and the women finally take industrial action. Rita, who primarily sees herself as a wife and mother, is coerced into attending a meeting with shop steward Connie, sympathetic union representative Albert and Peter Hopkins, Ford’s Head of Industrial Relations and finds her political voice.

A 24-hour strike is announced and as the women machinists wave placards outside the dilapidated plant, the male workers whistle and shout words of encouragement. However, Albert is aware that the gesture doesn’t go far enough. Rather than simply being re-graded as “semi-skilled” workers, he encourages Rita to embark on a fight for equal pay.

After receiving a high-handed letter of rebuke from their bosses, the women vote to increase their industrial action by going on an immediate all-out stoppage until an equal pay settlement is reached.

Meanwhile, a series of events are conspiring in their favour. Rita befriends middle class Lisa at the school gate who, unbeknownst to her, is actually the wife of Peter Hopkins. While in London, Barbara Castle has just started as Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity. Shocked at the statistics – 26,000 strikes in the past 12 months – she is determined to make a difference.

Despite attempts to dismiss her as the “Revlon Revolutionary” Rita’s fight for equality captures the public imagination, generating headlines around the country. The machinists travel to Westminster to protest outside the Houses of Parliament and, at first, are surprised and pleased at the support from passing motorists, who beep their horns and shout words of encouragement. Then they realise their banner is not fully unfurled: instead of reading “WE WANT SEX EQUALITY” it simply says “WE WANT SEX!”

Barbara Castle sees them from her office window and sympathises. She increases pressure on Prime Minister Harold Wilson to give her power to regulate the unions. However, strike pay is extremely meagre, and the campaign starts to cause problems at home for many of the women whose husbands work in the factory. Rita’s husband, Eddie, struggles to care for their children while she is busy with the protest. While Connie’s husband, George, puts pressure on her to go back to work. With only his war pension, he relies on her income to survive.

A bombshell is dropped when 5,000 men are laid off after the supply of finished car seats runs out. Robert Tooley arrives from the Michigan head office to strong-arm the strikers back to work. On arriving, he goes to Peter Hopkins’s house for dinner, where we learn that Lisa is fiercely intelligent and supports the women. But, despite her history degree from Cambridge, Hopkins treats his wife like a drudge, suggesting she keep her opinions to herself.

Rita, Connie and Albert head to the union offices for a meeting with other union representatives. The men’s unions are keen to put an end to the dispute and propose putting it to a vote at the forthcoming National Conference in Eastbourne.

Rita and Connie are fired up after the meeting, fully aware that the men want to get back to work and will do anything to put a stop to the strike. But, on returning home, Connie finds her husband George dead – he has hanged himself, wearing his RAF uniform.

At George’s funeral, Connie lashes out at Rita, blaming the strike for her husband’s suicide. Distraught, Rita blames herself for the community rift but is interrupted in her darkest hour by the arrival of Lisa who reveals herself as Peter Hopkins’s wife and, instead of urging Rita to end the dispute; she implores her to keep going. Lisa explains she has a first class honours degree in History, yet her husband treats her like a fool.

As Rita leaves for the conference in Eastbourne, Eddie tries to stop her. He apologises for being unsupportive, but argues that Rita has taken him for granted. He says Rita should be grateful he doesn’t cheat on her or hit her, like other men might. She calmly explains that this is exactly what she is fighting for – the right to expect fair treatment, rather than being pathetically grateful when she isn’t treated badly. With that, she leaves for Eastbourne.

At the conference, as the men attempt to overturn the strike, Rita takes to the lectern. Eddie has driven from Dagenham on his motorbike to surprise her with his support and dashes into the conference hall just as she starts to speak. She gives an emotionally charged speech, during which she talks about George’s passion and bravery and challenges the men of the unions on their commitment to fairness. A silence descends upon the hall and the men adjourn to consider their votes.

Back in London, Barbara Castle invites the machinists to her offices for a meeting. Prime Minister Harold Wilson berates her for appearing to side with the strikers, but she stands firm. Inside Barbara Castle’s office, Tooley has beaten the women to it. He tells the Secretary of State that he will take the British jobs elsewhere if she doesn’t force the machinists back to work.

Torn between her support for the women’s cause and her commitment to what’s best for the country, she tries to explain to the women that equality is a long game, and change won’t happen overnight. But Rita refuses to back down, telling her that they won’t go back to work without the guarantee of an Equal Pay Act and an immediate and considerable move towards the male rate at Ford.

Inspired by Rita’s determination, Barbara Castle tells Tooley they will not back down. He must either wait for the inevitable new laws to be introduced, or else make a gesture now to get his machinists back to work.