Themes: Fish Out of Water, Culture Clash, Workplace Romance
Main Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Ben Mendelsohn, Alwyn Kurts, Bruno Lawrence, John Walton
Release Year: 1991
Country: AU
Run Time: 97 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
Also released as Spotswood, The Efficiency Expert stars Anthony Hopkins as Wallace, a cold-blooded management consultant, infamous for radically "downsizing" every firm he comes in contact with. Wallace's latest assignment is to streamline a small, family-owned shoe factory in Australia. As he gets to know the eccentric (and endearingly inefficient) factory workers, Wallace undergoes a slow-but-sure "humanizing" process. Eventually realizing that he can simultaneously cut costs and preserve the dignity of the workers, he finds a way to modernize the operation without a single firing. In traditional fashion, the main story shares screen time with a romantic subplot involving the factory-owner's son and a female employee. Characterized by many critics as "Capraesque," The Efficiency Expert also bears trace of all those Ealing comedies of the 1950s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Rebecca Rigg - Cheryl; Toni Collette - Wendy; Russell Crowe - Kim; Daniel Wyllie - Frank Fletcher; John Flaus - Gordon; Jeff Truman - Ron; Gary Adams - Kevin; Leslie Baker - Gwen; Randall Berger - Amos; Max Fairchild - Wendys Father; Jacob Kino - Marvin; Conor McDermottroe - Salesman 2; Robert Noble - Union Official; Desiree Smith - Shirley; James Condon - Executive 1; Judith Graham - Jean; Esme Melville - Rose; Geoff Brooks - Salesman 1; Angela Punch McGregor - Caroline
Credit
Hugh Bateup - Art Director, Tess Schofield - Costume Designer, Euan Keddie - First Assistant Director, Mark Joffe - Director, Nicholas Beauman - Editor, Rikki Fataar - Composer (Music Score), Christopher Kennedy - Production Designer, Ellery Ryan - Cinematographer, Richard Brennan - Producer, Timothy White - Producer, Max Dann - Screenwriter, Andrew Knight - Screenwriter
