Movie Review: "The Sapphires"

The Sapphires is one of those films inspired by a true story.  It is not the real true story, but rather is merely inspired by the experiences of the writer's mother.  The film tells the tale of four aboriginal girls in 1960's Australia who become a soul group known as the Sapphires, touring Vietnam and singing for the troops.  As a good time, The Sapphires excels.  It's a feel good movie that has lots of laughs and appropriate bouts of sentimentality.  While The Sapphires often comes up short when it tries to express the cruelties of war, partly because the film's budget doesn't allow for anything beyond TV-grade effects and cinematography, The Sapphires still manages to resonate because you actually grow to like and care for these characters, and that's because of the actors.  The actors really elevate this material and make it what it is.  The four relative unknowns chosen for the girls are all talented, but it is Chris O'Dowd as their wily manager that really brings the film to life whenever he's onscreen, with O'Dowd's trademark wit and charm coming through.  Ultimately, if you want to just enjoy yourself for an hour-and-a-half, you could do a lot worse than The Sapphires.

I give The Sapphires a B-!