Kinky Boots, directed by Julian Jarrold, is based on a true story about a traditional shoe factory in England that avoided bankruptcy after facing stiff competition from cheaply made shoes in Slovakia. Price & Sons, established in 1895, made men's shoes built to last a lifetime. When the film begins, a little Black boy tries on a pair of women's high heel shoes, only to be scolded by his father. The next scene takes place some twenty years later at the Price factory in Northampton. Harold Price (played by Robert Pugh) is honoring his son Charlie (played by Joel Edgerton), who will be taking over marketing for the factory, as well as his future daughter-in-law Nicola (played by Jemima Rooper), who is absent from the festivities while at work elsewhere in town. One day, while in London, Charlie tries to stop three men who are attempting to rough up a woman. However, he falls in the scuffle and awakens in the dressing room of the woman, Lola (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor), who happens to be an accomplished drag queen performer. Charlie then attends her performance and is amazed. Lola is the grown-up boy, who has been disowned by his father (played by Ilario Bisi-Pedro). One day, the elder Mr. Price dies at the age of 62, so Charlie is suddenly in charge. When he surveys the factory, he discovers that shoes have been stacked up unsold, and the business is on the verge of bankruptcy. He then has to let fifteen loyal employees go, but the fifteenth is a younger women, Lauren (played by Sarah-Jane Potts), who suggests that he should change the line of shoes to fit a niche market. Soon, Charlie attends Lola's performance again, observes her flashy boots, and proposes to her that she might design a line of kinky boots. Lola accepts the offer, but initially creates a sensation not only as a new resident of conventional Northampton but also as a very different style of employee at the factory. Northampton heads turn when unconventional Lola parades in flashy outfits, and the most macho bears of the factory taunt Lola, who can out-armwrestle them but demurs to respect their masculininty. Much of the film plays up the clash between the proper English and the not-so-proper but stylish and self-confident Lola, and there is some melodrama involving employees unaccustomed to specialty work. Meanwhile, Charlie's girlfriend wants him to sell the factory, but he prefers to hang on to the family business. Lola's talents as singer and dancer are also appropriately exploited on the screen in several musical productions. The climax of the film comes when the kinky boots are to be displayed at the annual Milan exhibition, where Lola ultimately presents a flashy performance of "These Boots Are Made for Walking." Interpersonal tensions are resolved, especially an acceptance of drag queens as talented persons worthy of respect. The Thacherite subtext is the lesson that English ingenuity, now meaning inclusiveness across class, race, and sexual preferences, has triumphed over the perils of globalization. MH
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