Spotswood
The Efficiency Expert
Director: Mark Joffe
Screenplay: Max Dann & Andrew Knight
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, BenMendelsohn, AlwynKurts, ToniCollette, RussellCrowe
Production: Australian Film Commission, FilmVictoria, Miramax
Running time: 95min
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original title: Spotswood
Release…
Director: Mark Joffe
Screenplay: Max Dann & Andrew Knight
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, BenMendelsohn, AlwynKurts, ToniCollette, RussellCrowe
Production: Australian Film Commission, FilmVictoria, Miramax
Running time: 95min
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original title: Spotswood
Release year: 1991 (Australia), 1992 (international distribution)
Set in the mid-1960s, the story follows Errol Wallace (Hopkins), a rigid and calculating efficiency consultant who is sent to the outskirts of Melbourne to evaluate a small slipper factory.
The factory owner, Mr. Ball (Alwyn Kurts), wants to improve productivity, but the workers are a laid-back and original bunch, for whom work is more of a community than a machine.
Gradually, Wallace begins to see that efficiency is not just seconds and tables – but people whose lives are tied to their work. When he meets young employee Carey (Ben Mendelsohn) and his family, his cold professionalism begins to melt.
The film is a gentle satire of business and humanity, where efficiency meets Australian community spirit.
The tone is reminiscent of the British Ealing comedy tradition – quiet humor, warm human portrayal and a snapshot of 1960s industry.
Hopkins’ performance is subtle: he brings intelligence and empathy to the consultant, and the film’s ending is more of a reconciliation than a resolution.
The film stars several names that would later become internationally known:
Toni Collette in her debut role,
Russell Crowe in an early supporting role,
Ben Mendelsohn in the young lead role.
Their energy brings authenticity and local warmth to the film.
Critics considered Spotswood a small but charming Australian gem.
In HelsinginSanomat’s review, Mikael Fränti praised it as “a successful revival of the British Ealing comedy”, and Pertti Avola called it “a refreshingly unconventional comedy”, in which Hopkins creates a fully-fledged human portrait with small gestures.
The IMDb rating is 6.2/10, and RottenTomatoes describes the film as “a small classic in Australian cinema”.
Spotswood is a good-natured, human and nostalgic comedy that reminds us that efficiency without empathy is empty.
It's a film where a slipper factory becomes a mirror for society as a whole – and where Anthony Hopkins' character learns that sometimes the best results come from giving people time to be people.
www.mymovies.fi
Format:
Availability
Used:
Available /
New:
Not available
Availability refers to online store inventory. Store availability varies by product.
Age rating: 
Genre / Product categories:
DVD Draama Komedia
Year: 1992
Audio track:
Englanti
Subtitles:
Norja Ruotsi Suomi Tanska
Director:
Mark Joffe
Starring:
Anthony HopkinsBen MendelsohnAlwyn KurtsBruno LawrenceJohn WaltonRebecca RiggToni ColletteRussell CroweAngela Punch McGregorDan WyllieJohn FlausJeff TrumanToni LamondNathan CroftLesley BakerRosie SturgessRandall BergerDesirée SmithEsme MelvilleMickey CamilleriJudith GrahamJulie BurtonChris AndersonMichael S. McLean
Added to the collection: 27.04.26 • Information edited: 31.05.26