You! takes a look at some phenomenal women-oriented movies of 2017, which have been lovingly complied for our readers. Enjoy these films on your DVDs in chilly evenings...
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You! takes a look at some phenomenal women-oriented movies of 2017, which have been lovingly complied for our readers. Enjoy these films on your DVDs in chilly evenings...
Colossal
The story at the core of ‘Colossal’ is one of a relationship that was monstrous in childhood and that, despite appearances, remains monstrous in adulthood. It’s a story of trauma - of a gender-centered trauma involving the physical force exerted by males (of any age) against females - and of that trauma’s enduring power in the life of a woman who hasn’t acknowledged it, faced it, and worked through it.
Writer-director Nacho Vigalondo’s unique mix of comedy, social commentary, and sci-fi is given its biggest exposure yet thanks to the casting of stars Anne Hathaway and Jason Sudeikis for his movie. ‘Colossal’ explores the dangers of alcoholism as Vigalondo puts Hathaway front and center playing a party girl who suddenly realizes she’s controlling a giant that’s destroying Seoul. Sudeikis is her old friend who is also her evil enabler. The film does two things well at the same time: it embodies a strong idea and it delivers aesthetic pleasure. If you’re seeking something different from a movie, this is it.
Princess CYD
‘Princess Cyd’ is many things: a queer coming-of-age story, a tribute to intergenerational friendship, a redemption tale. But, it also captures one deeply significant thing, that moment when family members transform from strangers to loved ones.
Writer-director, Stephen Cone, ventures into Eric Rohmer territory with this philosophical, dialogue-driven comedy about a bright 17-year-old girl (Jessie Pinnick) spending the summer in Chicago with her novelist aunt (Rebecca Spence). The girl is in the process of discovering herself both intellectually and sexually, and her development sparks the curiosity of the solitary older woman. Their relationship evolves over the course of leisurely conversations about the nature of fulfillment, which lead both women to question whether they’re happy (as in Rohmer’s films, the characters use philosophy to mask discussion of their feelings). With great delicacy, Cone metes out details about his subjects through refined dialogue and everyday behaviour; this is the sort of movie that makes you feel you’ve befriended the characters.
Phanthom Thread
An intimate love story set against the London fashion scene of the 1950s, ‘Phantom Thread’ is a sumptuous aesthetic experience full of masterful performances and craft, orchestrated by a master filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson.
Set in the glamour of 1950’s post-war London, renowned dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis) and his sister Cyril (Lesley Manville) are at the center of British fashion, dressing royalty, movie stars, heiresses, socialites, debutants and dames with the distinct style of The House of Woodcock. Women come and go through Woodcock’s life, providing the confirmed bachelor with inspiration and companionship, until he comes across a young, strong-willed woman, Alma (Vicky Krieps), who soon becomes a fixture in his life as his muse and lover. Once controlled and planned, he finds his carefully tailored life disrupted by love. ‘Phanthom Thread’ is a delightful, sly treat of malcontented lust and power twisted into a perverted romance.
I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore
Directed by Macon Blair, this comedy thriller is both empowering adventure and cautionary tale. Fed up with the human indecency, a woman (Melanie Lynskey) sees around her and set off by her home being burglarized, she teams up with her martial arts-crazed neighbour (Elijah Wood) to exact vengeance. However, the duo soon finds themselves deep into a world they know little about. Suspenseful and hilarious, despondent and optimistic, ‘I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore’ is a masterful genre film, one that immerses itself in the small, painful indignities of everyday life, and then casts the battle against those wrongs as a serio-comic odyssey of sleuthing, heavy metal, and nunchakus.
Faces Places
Despite an age difference of more than a half-century, legendary filmmaker Agnes Varda, 89, and French street artist J.R., 34, make a great screen combo in this delightful travelogue that doubles as a meditation on art and aging. The duo takes a road trip through rural France, during which they use a special camera to create large-scale photographs to share memories with those they meet. Their bond deepens over an admiration of each other’s work, a curiosity for exploring the unknown, and a shared passion for creativity in general. Conceptually simple yet completely unique, the charming film is both intensely personal and poignantly universal.
Columbus
Wonderfully acted and artfully composed, ‘Columbus’ balances the clean lines of architecture against the messiness of love, with tenderly moving results. As strikingly unique as the Indiana buildings its characters visit, ‘Columbus’ is a boy-meets-girl tale that cares less for romance than for the unlikely, intrinsic ties that bind seemingly disparate souls.
Arriving in Columbus to tend to his ailing, and estranged, architect father, Jin (John Cho) falls into a friendship with younger Casey (Haley Lu Richardson), who’s set aside personal dreams in order to stay home and care for her recovering-addict mother (Michelle Forbes). While admiring Haley’s favorite local architectural landmarks, the duo engage in conversations about family, obligation, and ambition in the process locating the beauty - and power - of those deeper ideas, and feelings, lurking beneath familiar surfaces. Architecture has never been more romantic than in ‘Columbus’, single-name director Kogonada’s stunningly beautiful film.
Girls Trip
The movie is about a group of college friends from the 90s who called themselves ‘The Flossy Posse’ reuniting 20 years later for a free trip to New Orleans courtesy of their Queen Bee (Regina Hall) who the movie tells us is the second coming of Oprah Winfrey; she’s a self-help icon and about to become very rich by signing a new TV show deal. Along for the ride are her estranged bestie (Queen Latifah, a gossip blogger), the uptight ‘mom’ of the group (Jada Pinkett Smith who steps up her comic game here), and the randy party girl (Tiffany Haddish).
If you’re thinking a riff on that Sex and the City plot, you’d be somewhat correct, but this movie is much funnier and no rip-off. Besides, it’s been mandatory since at least the Golden Girls that when there are groups of four women portraying best friends, the dynamic always has to include the following types: the center of attention, a judgy friend, a thirsty party girl, and the naive prude. It’s the law! Throughout the film, an emphasis is placed on black femininity and friendships as something enjoyable, and also something critical. These four women have an impenetrable bond that is endearing and satisfying to watch. This movie knows how to have a good time, but it’s also rooted in the complexities and power of female friendships!
