Kinky Boots

These boots are made for walking and that’s just they’ll do …

Kinky Boots is a engaging feelgood comedy inspired by a true story about a Northampton shoe firm whose owner Stephen Pateman decided to alter his workforce, asking them to give up making unfashionable brogue classic shoes that don’t sell, in order to meet the demands instead of making kinky fetish boots in a niche market for drag queens.

Kinky Boats opens with the Northampton firm blissfully unaware of the climatic change that is looming at the factory, in terms of announcing possible redundancies. Charlie (Oz actor Joel Edgerton) has taken over from his dear ol’Dad who dies at the start of the film. He discovers that the factory is in a bad state orders-wise and even though his fiancée wants him to leave and head down south, he finds he can’t leave and then it’s a case of trying to make the factory work. Into his life comes Lauren, a bright young thing on his workforce (Sarah Jane Potts) and the mysterious Lola (played beautifully by the ubiquitous Chiwetel Ejiofor) from the world of fetishism who will open Charlie’s eyes completely.

Kinky Boots is the film debut of former Brit TV drama director Julian Jarrold who has conjured up a less familiar cast apart from leads Joel Edgerton (Star Wars) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (Dirty Pretty Things). Its imaginatively shot and makes the most of an honourable workforce reminiscent of the mining community out to just make an honest bob in Brassed Off. It’s a decent drama because it reminds us all that all is not lost when you can seize the moment and also emphasizes that life is all about taking risks if you want to live the dream and most importantly since it explores the world of transvestitism and their fondness for knee-high boots, its about not judging a book by its cover.

Matt Arnoldi