In Theaters

The Sapphires

Movie Details

The Sapphires
  • Genre: Comedy, Drama, Musical
  • Release Date: 2013-03-22 Limited
  • Running Time: 98 min.
  • Director: Wayne Blair
  • Cast: Chris O'Dowd, Deborah Mailman, Jessica Mauboy, Shari Sebbens, Miranda Tapsell, Tory Kittles, Eka Darville, Tanika Lonesborough, Nioka Brennan, Lynette Narkle
  • Producers: Rosemary Blight, Kylie du Fresne
  • Writers: Tony Briggs, Keith Thompson
  • Distributor: The Weinstein Company
  • Official Site: The Sapphires Official Site

This fact-based, girl-group empowerment story never quite soars, but has its easy pleasures, and The Sapphires is likely to become one of those movies everyone sees, maybe more than once. The wonderful Irish actor Chris O'Dowd, who played the laid-back highway patrolman in Bridesmaids (2011), stars as Dave Lovelace, a musician living out of his car who stumbles upon a gifted girl group in rural Australia circa 1968. The four young women are Aboriginals, and as such are shunned and abused by white neighbors they've known all their lives. When Julie (Jessica Mauboy), the one with the really great voice, sees an advertisement seeking acts to perform for American troops in Vietnam, she convinces the others (Deborah Mailman, Shari Sebbens, and Miranda Tapsell) to audition. After Dave encourages the girls to switch their repertoire from Merle Haggard to Otis Redding tunes, the girls soon find themselves performing in Saigon and the war zone beyond. First-time director Wayne Blair and screenwriters Keith Thompson and Tony Briggs, adapting Briggs' stage play, don't shy away from the era's social complexities, but they keep their eye on the ball, which in this case is the sweet pull of soul tune harmony. Why resist?

Chuck Wilson
VOICE Daily Deals

Now Showing

Find capsule reviews, showtimes & tickets for all films in town.

Powered By VOICE Places

Now Trending

Los Angeles Event Tickets

Box Office

  1. G.I. Joe: Retaliation, 40.5 mil, 51.0 mil
  2. The Croods, 26.7 mil, 88.9 mil
  3. Tyler Perry's Temptation, 21.6 mil, 21.6 mil
  4. Olympus Has Fallen, 14.1 mil, 54.9 mil
  5. Oz The Great and Powerful, 11.7 mil, 198.4 mil
  6. The Host, 10.6 mil, 10.6 mil
  7. The Call, 4.9 mil, 39.6 mil
  8. Admission, 3.2 mil, 11.7 mil
  9. Spring Breakers, 2.8 mil, 10.1 mil
  10. The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, 1.3 mil, 20.6 mil
Movie Title, Weekly Earnings, Total Earnings

Movie Trailers

©2013 LA Weekly, LP, All rights reserved.
Browse Voice Nation
  • Voice Places Los Angeles

    Voice Places

    Find everything you're looking for in your city

  • Happy Hour App

    Happy Hour App

    Find the best happy hour deals in your city

  • Daily Deals

    Daily Deals

    Get today's exclusive deals at savings of anywhere from 50-90%

  • Best Of

    Best Of...

    Check out the hottest list of places and things to do around your city

Join
Log In