24 Oct 2018

Review: She Shears is heartwarming if not mind-blowing

From At The Movies, 7:33 pm on 24 October 2018

Whoever picked the five shearing stars for Jack Nicol's documentary She Shears deserves some kind of award, says Simon Morris.

A still from She Shears (2018)

A still from She Shears (2018) Photo: Miss Conception Films

I wasn't surprised that female shearers existed, though back in the day you could number them on one hand.

I was surprised that they compete successfully against the men - there's no such thing as a "women shearer competition" and that they are often supported by the male shearers in their family.

That's documentaries for you.

The Topp Twins doco taught us that rural folk are a lot less conservative than you think. Pecking order showed that sometimes they're in on the joke, but it's not going to stop them carrying on.

And Richie McCaw reminded us that the only way to win is to be ruthlessly competitive.

Which brings us to the women stars of She Shears. Whoever picked this particular quintet - it might have been director Nicol, or producers Georgina Conder or Ainsley Gardiner - deserves some sort of an award.

First there's former world record-holder Emily…

Biting at the likeable mum's heels is the competition.

There's a tough cookie called Pagan, who needs to be tough. She's coming back from a car accident that seems to have broken half the bones in her body.

Pagan defines staunch.

Less in your face, but even more competitive, it turns out, is Catherine. She may look a slim Silver Fern, but she's not quitting until she takes out the Golden Shears.

Representing the old guard, from the pioneer years of female shearers, is the remarkable Jills. She finally retired from the game a few years ago, and took on a new challenge.

She's now a successful High Court lawyer, believe it or not, though she still keeps her hand in at shearing competitions.

And youngest and sweetest is the delightful Hazel, who's just starting out. Despite her love of shearing she has to work around her time at her dad's dairy farm.

She's not a big fan of cattle, she says. She is a big fan of our woollen friends.

Like the fashion world explored in a lot of documentaries at the moment, shearing is another, slightly arcane world.

But there's nothing more fascinating than watching people who are really good at something working with each other.

She shears may be precisely what it says on the tin, but who doesn't want to open it?

I'm pleased I did, though I was disappointed at the turn out at my suburban cinema.

Hopefully it will do better out in the country.

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