Our Ladies – Film Review
by Katie McCann

Director – Michael Caton-Jones
Writers – Michael Caton-Jones, Alan Warner(novel)
Stars – Ross Anderson, Tony Atherton, Eve Austin

Our Ladies is based on the novel The Sopranos by Alan Warner and tells the story of a group of Catholic school girls from the Highlands of Scotland. Previously the novel was adapted into the hugely popular play Our Ladies of Perpetual Succor and now it has received the big-screen treatment!

The year is 1996 and the girls of Our Ladies of Perpetual Succor are heading to Edinburgh for the day to take part in a choir competition. As you might imagine their minds are on things other than music, mostly shopping and finding some fit Edinburgh boys to cop off with. We follow the five main protagonists Orla, Finnoula, Chell, Kylah and Manda as they take on the big city and all the pitfalls that come with it. If you are expecting a sweet and innocent coming of age story you would be wrong, very wrong indeed. These girls don’t give a fuck and will do anything for a good fuck.

There are parts of Our Ladies that are hilarious but overall it feels a little lost at times, with so many storylines happening at once. There are moments though when the heart of the piece really shines through and the five main female performances are wonderful. Each actress gives a rich and provocative insight into each of the girls’ lives as well as their hopes and dreams for the future. The film really relies on us liking these girls, no matter how outlandish and wild they might get, and thanks to five strong performances you really, really do like them.

Our Ladies was due for release in 2020 and is another victim of the Covid-19 pandemic. It probably won’t get the wide cinema release it deserves, which is a shame as it is more than worth a watch for how refreshingly different it is. Very rarely do we see stories like this on screen, of women unapologetically living their lives without a shred of care for what anyone thinks or the consequences of their actions. Plus there is a pretty great soundtrack and a very surprising cameo at the end.