Our Ladies: release date, cast, and everything else about the coming-of-age drama set in Scotland

Following the BAFTA success of Glasgow-set country music drama Wild Rose, a new coming-of-age film shot entirely in Scotland will hit our screens early next year.

Set in the mid-90s, it follows a group of Catholic school girls from a port town in the Highlands as they get an opportunity to go to Edinburgh for a choir competition.

However, they're more interested in drinking, partying and hooking up than winning the competition.

Hide Ad

During the course of their wild ride through Edinburgh, the film explores social class, sexuality and sexism.

Read More
Glasgow-set Wild Rose among big winners at star-studded BAFTA Scotland Awards

A passion project two decades in the making, Our Ladies is a comedy about the pressures, dreams and disappointments of adolescence.

Here’s everything you need to know about the film.

What is the film about?

The girls intend to see some things while they're in Edinburgh...though hills and castles aren't really their priorities. Picture: In A Big Country Ltd.The girls intend to see some things while they're in Edinburgh...though hills and castles aren't really their priorities. Picture: In A Big Country Ltd.
The girls intend to see some things while they're in Edinburgh...though hills and castles aren't really their priorities. Picture: In A Big Country Ltd.

Our Ladies is about a group of Catholic schoolgirls from a port town in the Highlands of Scotland who go on a trip to Edinburgh for a choir competition.

Their plans for the journey have little do with perfecting their hymns – finally freed from the supervising eyes of home, they plan to lose themselves in the capital and sniff out some life experience.

The film takes place over the course of a single day, supplemented by occasional flashbacks, following the girls as they chase their ambitions and impulses across the city.

It was shot entirely in Scotland, both in Edinburgh and Fort William.

For the girls of Our Ladies, the bus to Edinburgh is an escape towards boundless possibilities. Picture: In A Big Country Pictures Ltd.For the girls of Our Ladies, the bus to Edinburgh is an escape towards boundless possibilities. Picture: In A Big Country Pictures Ltd.
For the girls of Our Ladies, the bus to Edinburgh is an escape towards boundless possibilities. Picture: In A Big Country Pictures Ltd.

Who stars in it?

Hide Ad

Back in 1998, Scottish director Michael Caton-Jones (Rob Roy, Hitman Redemption) bought the film rights to Alan Warner's novel The Sopranos, which has previously been adapted into a stage musical.

With Our Ladies, Caton-Jones has finally been able to realise his long-standing ambition of bringing it to the big screen. The six lead roles are played by Eve Austin (Fearless, Print), Tallulah Grieve (Flatmates, Millie Inbetween), Abigail Lawrie (The Casual Vacancy, The Man with the Iron Heart), Sally Messham (Doc Martin, Allied and the upcoming Artemis Fowl), Rona Morrison (Solo, Ready Player One) and Anna and the Apocalypse star, Marli Siu.

Hide Ad

As an ensemble, they represent some of Scotland's most exciting up-and-coming acting talent.

Forthright and filthy-minded, the main cast of Our Ladies have left critics raving. Picture: In A Big Country Ltd.Forthright and filthy-minded, the main cast of Our Ladies have left critics raving. Picture: In A Big Country Ltd.
Forthright and filthy-minded, the main cast of Our Ladies have left critics raving. Picture: In A Big Country Ltd.

What have critics said?

After appearing at this year's London Film Festival, the film has garnered glowing reviews from critics.

The Scotsman's Alistair Harkness claimed that “there’s a real poignancy and sweetness to the way the film never loses sight of the girls’ joie de vivre: they understand the limitations facing them, which only intensifies their noble quest to have a good time while they can.”

The Times' Kevin Maher’s five-star review said the film “features five of the most compelling, neatly drawn and slightly terrifying female protagonists committed to film.”

Leading British film magazine Sight and Sound were similarly enthused, describing it as “A must-see riot of girl power and teen spirit that redefines how girls get to have sex and talk about sexuality on screen.”

When is it out?

Our Ladies will be released across the UK on 6 March 2020.