Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: LADIES OF STEEL [Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2021 - Virtual]
The aspect of path but sometimes identity is not something relegated to youth. In "Ladies Of Steel" [Nordic Cinema Competition] it takes the "Wild Hogs" motif in a different direction with a "ladies-on-the-run" tale for the geriatric bunch. While it might not be for everyone, this comedy has its heart in the right place. Using its Scandinavian base simply as the construct, the misled perceptions of an older woman stuck in a lost marriage that suddenly goes awry in a specific way has its quirks. What makes it is not necessarily the lead who provides the point of view but her cohorts (including her snotty sister) who are along for the ride. The sister plays it waspy and alludes that she still looks like a young hot thing. The irony is not lost. The best part is when the girls finally let loose at a bar and the quiet one of the bunch gets drunk "and loses her inhibitions.” It is played for laughs but also relates a deeper meaning. That character provides the final piece of this puzzle that lets this farce run correctly because she is one most scared of playing outside the box. A secondary story about celebrating a birthday is meant to be satire but is overplayed when the core story and simply a wisp of what else is going on would have sufficed. Now granted the plot ploy serves its point leading into the final resolution which of course speaks to the young at heart so the intent is not lost. But the greater structure of what the protagonist of the story really wants is left up in the ether. She has many options but they speak to a different point in her life. The differing experiences, whether it be with a former fling or her part of a new radical persona long ago at a university protest, speaks to the idea of who we are then versus who we are now and who might think to be. B-
By Tim Wassberg
