Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

vampi1960 i bought this at a dollar store along with some other pretty good DVD double features,the efficiency expert and Eliza's horoscope which i have'nt seen yet.i took a look at the cast and said looks like a good movie.Anthony Hopkins,Russell crowe,Toni Collette,and Angela punch McGregor who i knew from the movie;the island 1980.anyway they send efficiency expert(Hopkins)out to a moccasin factory to check how its being run.and he gets to know all the workers and their lives and such. Russell crowe and Toni Collette both in early roles.Anthony Hopkins is a great actor and makes the movie interesting,its take on a small factory and the people that work there.but for a buck its a real bargain.as double features go sometimes one is good the other not too good,not always the case.but if you venture into a dollar store,look through the dollar dvds.you may find some good ones like i did. i give efficiency expert 8 out of 10.good movie.

mj-145 I have just used this film to show the effects of a taylorist management style to my year 12 Business management students. Spotswood captures the problems involved in treating workers as just another resource to be exploited, very succinctly. I just loved the employees of this factory. They were all quite typical of Australians of this period, with names I haven't heard for years, like Wendy, Shirley and Cheryl! Their refusal to see the value in the efficiency improvements foisted upon them simply because they were so human, and needed to socialise neatly demonstrated just what is wrong with scientific management practice. I think this movie should be compulsory viewing for all Australians in view of the new industrial relations laws recently passed by the Howard government. Spotswood shows us just the type of community that we are losing as individualism becomes the dominant philosophy in society. In short spotswood neatly illustrated to my students concepts and theories that had been presented in class.

RickRunyan Errol Wallace's wife, Caroline, perfectly played by Angela Punch McGregor, delivers that turning point line and sums up the plot. Bottom line focused efficiency expert finally sees the people whose lives his career of recommendations affect and unwittingly saves his own marriage in the process.Some might say "slow and plodding", but then they'd be missing the point. Layers of character development compactly delivered in 90-some minutes contradict that sentiment. No one does it better than Sir Anthony. Reminiscent of Merchant and Ivory's "Howard's End" but set in 1969 in Victoria Australia's working district of Spotswood a few kilometers from Melbourne, Hopkins again makes his measured character riveting more by acting than by dialog. For instance the look on his face is priceless while not being overplayed when, after asking Caroline to get him an "axe handle or something heavier", fearing a second labor retaliation on their home, she brings him a flimsy lady's umbrella.To paraphrase another reviewer, "Quite a little gem."

Fred SPOTSWOOD, which, in American release, is called THE EFFICIENCY EXPERT, is a rewarding movie for those who pay attention. I've watched it three times in the last three nights and liked it more each time. Briefly, Anthony Hopkins plays one of these guys who goes from company to company telling management how costs can be cut. It being Anthony Hopkins, you know he's going to look calm and cool while hating what he's doing. (Think of MEET JOE BLACK.) If you've seen the Ealing comedies from the 50s you'll see that SPOTSWOOD is much in the mode of those. The best part of this movie is its focus on the factory Hopkins visits. The characters are droll, but relatively realistic, and, of course, you don't want Hopkins to cause them the misfortune he seems poised to introduce into their lives. The movie is a bit weak in relating the story of Carey (Ben Mendelsohn), a young machinist who worships the boss's daughter from afar. Given that this is a comedy about workers versus big money, the love triangle almost derails the satire (enter Toni Collete as the saintly factory girl Ben Mendelsohn keeps ignoring.) In any case, even in its weak spots it's so well-acted (dig Russell Crowe as an up-and-coming shark) that it holds your interest. There is a really great scene of pure cinema. This is a slot-car race, filled with suspense and laughter. I have yet to see an Australian movie that didn't have at least one almost impossible-to-film moment. The land that gave us 90-some minutes of almost-impossible-to-film moments (that's THE ROAD WARRIOR, of course) offers a marvelous mini-moment in this scene. There is at least one great sight gag ("Don't turn the key until I tell you...") and some very moving moments led by Alwyn Kurts as the owner of the targeted factory. This is a very well-made, amusing motion picture. Also, check out Hopkins in one scene in close-up, when he's laying down his cynical law to Alwyn Kurts. He's got the back of his hand just under his own jaw-bone, and he's moving it in a sawing action. It reminded me of Brando in APOCALYPSE NOW.