Our Ladies

About 30 minutes into Our Ladies you might find yourself thinking that the heroines of Michael Caton-Jones's new film are pretty horrible people that you'd have no problem crossing the road to avoid. An hour or so later as the credits roll you might also find yourself thinking about them with a lump in your throat wondering how you got from there to here.

The girls of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour are heading south from the Highlands for a singing competition in Edinburgh but unlike the prim and proper nun, Sister Condon (Kate Dickie), supervising them, their thoughts are anything but pure. Orla (Tallulah Greive, superb), recovering from cancer, needs to lose her virginity now. Manda (Sally Messham) and Chell (Rona Morison) want drink, men and trouble. Kylah (Marli Siu) wants to sow the seeds of a musical career that will get her away from her smalltown existence and Fionnula (Abigail Lawrie) wants to explore all the options the city will offer her. It's a day none of them will ever forget.

Set in 1996 the comparisions with Channel 4's Derry Girls are undeniable but this tale, funny and upsetting in equal measure, adapted from a novel by Alan Warner called The Sopranos, existed long before Lisa McGee's hit show was even a twinkle in it's creators eye. It's a story that could be set anywhere, one of teens desperate to escape a life that already has it's claws buried deep in them. A life that has turned some into dreamers, embued a couple with a deep bitterness and others with a resignation that this is as good as it's going to get before pregnancy ties them to a place they hate. It's this bitterness and resignation that gives the earlier scenes a mean tone and a characters a nasty, unforgiving edge, especially when they encounter Kay (Eve Austin), the head girl who wants to be part of their group but who's family status will give her a chance at a better future than they'll ever have. A bus scene lays out their relationship with her, Fionnula and Manda putting her in her place instantly. It's tough to watch, you'll have your mind made up about people straight away and then....

Edinburgh. They split into groups to get a sense of the place and it's here we get a better sense of them. It's all bravado, all their talk of drinking and shagging vanishes when the chat is one to one, their fears laid out for all to witness, insecurities and chips on shoulders explain earlier behaviour letting us see horrible people in a wholly different light. We start to understand them, empathise with them, recognise ourselves in them. For people who were teenagers in the 90's some of it really strikes a chord, the music, the clothes, that constant sense of disappointment when plans fall through and the boredom laced throughout. The way you held onto anything enjoyable for dear life, even dying friendships, especially when you were from a place with nothing going for it. 

It's back in that place where everything comes to a head, some plot strands ending rather anti climatically (rosary beads!), others in a life affirming fashion and one with absolute inevitability. One film long conflict is ironed out way too easily but it's forgivable because it's what happened when you were a teenager. Hangovers cleared and friendships rolled on and the performances between our ladies make those friendships feel real. They create a real group chemistry that floats the film past it's weaker moments (stolen uniforms and wedding videos) and sails into the ones that will stick with you involving fireworks, kisses on quiet dancefloors and mornings after in rickety cafes.

Our Ladies is showing in cinemas now. It's worth your while.