March is Women's History Month, so what better way to celebrate than to watch some great films directed by women! Okay, I'm sure there are equally if not more important ways we can celebrate this month, like actually trying to make legitamate steps forward towards true equality in this country/world... but we can start by watching awesome movies, I guess...
I'm choosing ten films that I have not previously mentioned or recommended on this blog, plus I'm gonna include some bonus picks and add additional links to films I've talked about before.
Let's get started!!
The Babadook (2014, dir. Jennifer Kent)
Easily one of the scariest films of the new millennium, The Babadook focuses on a newly widowed mother and her troublemaking son, who is convinced that the monster from one of his pop-up books is haunting the house... and guess what... THE CHILD IS RIGHT!!!! That all being said, this film is much more sophisticated than the premise may suggest. The film is much more so about dealing with trauma and living with debilitating depression than it is about some sort of supernatural boogieman-type thing. Plus, the actual horror scenes are exhilarating and expertly directed. Don't watch this if you scare easily.
Beyond the Lights (2014, Gina Prince-Bythewood)
This film is often compared to the Whitney Houston classic The Bodyguard, and even though I've never seen that Secret Service/pop star romance, I just have a feeling that comparison is accurate. Beyond the Lights shares a similar DNA (keep the pop star, but replace the Secret Service guy with just a regular cop), but the film is still definitely worth a watch. Gugu Mbatha-Raw stars as an overworked Rihanna-esque singer who is saved by Nate Parker (the same producer/writer/director/star of the film that won this year's Sundance) when trying to commit suicide. It's definitely a heavy premise, but the film is ultimately very romantic and a film that promises a happy future for our leading couple.
Clueless (1995, dir. Amy Heckerling)
Like Alicia Silverstone's Cher herself, Clueless is often glossed over as just a "valley girl", lowbrow comedy, but it's so much more than that! In all seriousness, it might be the best comedy of the 90s. At least top five. Cher is a genuine film icon, a materialistic person for sure, but also one who genuinely enjoys helping people and being the best person she believes she can be. Ignore Stacey Dash's suspicious and potentially dangerous political commentary and have fun rewatching this comedy classic, since I'm hoping you all have seen it at least once already.
Middle of Nowhere (2012, dir. Ava DuVernay)
Ava DyVernay is probably the most sought after woman director working right now. Not only that, but she's a total #BOSS and badass activist as well! She was offered the directing gig for Marvel's Black Panther and she turned it down... because she can, and she was still able to keep her good relations with Disney to snag that A Wrinkle in Time job instead. She's most known for directing the Martin Luther King, Jr. biopic Selma, but the better of her earlier films (her first film I Will Follow is also on Netflix) is Middle of Nowhere, a film focusing on a woman trying to rediscover herself after her husband is sent to prison. Emayatzy Corinealdi's leading performance is particularly strong. You seriously might as well get all caught up with DuVernay's work now before she inevitably takes over the world. Middle of Nowhere is a good place to start.
Pariah (2011, dir. Dee Rees)
You know me, always recommending those films that give you that warm, miserable feeling in the pit of your stomach. This one is a sad one... Pariah, starring the immensely talented Adepero Oduye, is about a young lesbian living in a home where her sexual identity is very much not welcome. The film depicts the joy that comes with young love, as well as the devastating reality that comes after Pariah's parents discover the truth. Bradford Young's cinematography is another highlight in Dee Rees' impressive directorial debut.
Paris is Burning (1990, dir. Jennie Livingston)
Okay, this one is pretty sad too... but also very informative and undeniably essential. Paris is Burning documents the New York City drag and trans communities during the mid- to late-1980s. For a film made over 25 years ago, it's exciting to see just how progressive the filmmaking was and to see such an honest portrait of how these individuals, almost all of who were kicked out of their homes and many of which had to become sex workers in order to make a living, were able to connect with one another, forming "houses" (AKA families) and finding happiness in a society that continuously tried to dehumanize them.
Somewhere (2010, dir. Sofia Coppola)
This is the one Sofia Coppola movie that has grown on me the most over time. I love The Virgin Suicides, and I quite like Lost in Translation and The Bling Ring, but Somewhere is arguably her most lasting film and one of her most memorable. Hell, it won the Golden Lion at the 2010 Venice Film Festival, making Coppola the first American woman to win that top award. The film focuses on a newly successful Hollywood actor going through an existential crisis, which involves driving fast cars and hiring private strippers, but the sudden presence of his pre-teen daughter helps him "find himself". It's a somewhat overdone concept, plus it didn't make much of an impact when I originally saw it, but I'm telling you, it truly sticks with you, and it holds up much better the second time around.
Take This Waltz (2011, dir. Sarah Polley)
Sarah Polley has transitioned into full-time director after acting for over two decades. Her family documentary Stories We Tell is gOrGeOuS (!!!), but Take This Waltz is even better! Michelle Williams is in a predictable and unsatisfying marriage with Seth Rogen, and she suddenly finds herself falling in love with Luke Kirby. Polley presents William's character without judgment and with full development, so the film truly forces the audience to understand that this lead isn't actually trying to hurt her husband or do anything malicious during her affair. The film presents the argument that monogamy just does not make sense for certain people, and that's okay. It's a very lovely and thought-provoking drama.
Top of the Lake (Season 1) (2013, dir. Jane Campion)
This isn't technically a movie, but each of the 8 episodes of this detective show are directed by Jame Campion, Oscar-winning and legendary woman filmmaker. This actually aired a year before season one of True Detective, so Top of the Lake wrongfully got overshadowed by Matthew McConaughey "flat circle" monologue. Now, don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed True Detective season one (couldn't even finish season two, tho...), but Top of the Lake is honestly better. Elisabeth Moss plays a detective investigating the disappearance of a 12-year-old pregnant girl. A bunch of other subplots fill in the eight hours of programming, but Jane Campion's vision is so transparent and intoxicating that the whole thing breezes by in a powerful gust. The New Zealand landscapes and a bonus brilliant performance from Holly Hunter as a deadpan spiritual leader of troubled women makes this an incredible winner of a show. Plus, season two finally begins filming this spring!
We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011, dir. Lynne Ramsay)
Tilda Swinton stars as the mother of a very troubled child, Kevin (the star-making performance from Ezra Miller), who we learn right from the get-go is in prison for an unknown crime(s). We eventually learn what those crimes were, and I'm not gonna spoil it, but they're indeed violent. Lynne Ramsay's visual directing is crazy good, highlighting pops of bright red in practically every frame of this bleak film. We often flashback in time to see Kevin and his mother's relationship from the very beginning, and it was clearly never pretty or easy... This film is just so fucking crazy, but it deeply explores the testament of a "mother's love" and just how strong of a bond that relationship between mother and child truly can be, even when it never felt very strong to begin with...
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