The Dressmaker

A prisoner of war's daring escape from a speeding train . . . a Greek resistance heroine's fateful decision to harbour the fugitive . . . and a young dressmaker's curiosity spark a chain of events that has consequences none of them could ever have imagined.

From the very first booming drums and big acoustic guitars, the Dressmaker's score instantly tells the audience, "Don't be fooled by the title - this is not a chic flick!" Director Jocelyn Moorhouse's brief was to hypnotise and intrigue the audience with a spell of "deliciously wicked" music, and that's exactly what David Hirschfelder did, from the first frame to the last.The sound of the score, whilst occasionally tipping it's hat to classic western genre films of the 50s and 60s, nevertheless has its own voice, with a bedrock of string orchestra, overlaid with earthy acoustic guitars, tenor mandolins, country fiddles, piano, various percussion instruments and assorted oddball delights - including washboard, bucket bass, and other misfit instruments such as 3-string guitars made from cookie tins strummed with coins.