Dream Ladies and Bad Sisters
Hello and welcome to Thelma & Alice #19, the newsletter for people who want to watch more movies (and sometimes TV) made by women. To be honest, I had trouble finding movies to recommend for this month’s edition. Only one new release made the cut. There were several older films that I thought would be good candidates, but they were all slightly disappointing. One classic that I thought would be shoo-in had a weird third act, while another semi-acclaimed movie was kind of boring. So, I reached back into my blog archives for two of these recommendations. I also have a TV pick for you this month, a new show that I can’t wait to watch every Friday.
Girls Just Wanna Have Livonian Bloodhounds
The Dream Lady (1918)
Directed by Elsie Jane Wilson
Written by Fred Lyton and Margaret Widdemer
53 minutes; Streaming on Kanopy
This silent movie from over 100 years ago is a rare, recovered print from a lost era of filmmaking. In the early days of cinema, women often had a bigger role behind the camera, but much of their work was lost or misattributed. This print miraculously survived and tells a whimsical story about an orphan, Rosamund, who becomes unexpectedly rich after her uncle dies. With her new freedom, she decides to live according to her dreams, which include: living in a cottage at the edge of the woods, wearing a fancy dressing gown, becoming a fortune teller, acquiring a “Livonian bloodhound,” and falling in love with a proper gentleman. In pursuit of these goals, she adopts a child, makes some shady investments, and helps a friend “take a vacation” from being a woman. IMDB * REVIEW
A Documentary About One of Cinema’s Pioneers
Be Natural: The Untold Hidden Story of Alice Guy-Blaché (2019)
Directed by Pamela B. Green
1 hour 43 minutes; Streaming on AMC+ and Kanopy
I discovered Alice Guy-Blaché when I was searching for a title for my blog (which has morphed into this newsletter). I was looking for a name that would refer to cinema’s groundbreaking women. I first thought of Thelma Schoonmaker, Martin Scorsese’s legendary and indispensable film editor, and then of course I remembered Thelma & Louise, the classic feminist film that inspired Geena Davis to create her Institute on Gender in Media. I was looking for a name to go with Thelma when I happened upon Alice Guy-Blaché, who was not only the first female film director, but one of a pioneering cohort who invented narrative film. I honestly don’t know why I’ve waited so long to recommend this documentary about Guy-Blaché, except that it took a while to arrive on streaming platforms. I first saw it at the New York Film Festival in 2018, and then I think it had a brief run in the spring of 2019 before it disappeared. It’s a very thorough and accessible documentary, well worth your time, especially if you are interested in the early history of filmmaking. IMDB * REVIEW * TRAILER
Middle Aged Melodrama
Both Sides of the Blade (2022)
Directed by Claire Denis
Written by Christine Angot and Claire Denis
1 hour 56 minutes; VOD Amazon, Apple, etc. $4.99
I really liked this movie even as I wasn’t totally sure what to make of it. Starring Juliet Binoche, it’s a love triangle story, where Binoche feels the malevolent pull of an ex-boyfriend who comes crashing into her life after being away for many years. The ex-boyfriend’s appearance reveals the cracks in her current long-term relationship, and destabilizes her otherwise settled life. It’s hard to say why she’s experiencing this midlife romantic turmoil, but you root for her even when she’s making perplexing choices. I saw it in the theater and afterwards, I talked to one of the other women who had seen it. (There were three of us, total, in the theater.) We both agreed it was an emotionally confusing movie. “I liked her,” the woman said. “But I don’t know about those guys she was with.” Totally agree. IMDB * REVIEW * TRAILER
Netflix Hidden Treasure
Tully (2018)
Directed by Jason Reitman
Written by Diablo Cody
1 hour 35 minutes; Streaming on Netflix
Yes, we brought Netflix back into our household. Yes, the children orchestrated it. No, I can’t really find anything to watch on it…but it is showing Tully, a movie that resonated with me personally when I first saw it. Written by Diablo Cody (who also wrote Juno and Young Adult), it stars Charlize Theron as a 40-year-old mother who is struggling to care for an infant while also raising two school-aged children. She reluctantly hires a night nanny who turns out to be absolutely wonderful, a Mary Poppins-like figure of fun and energy. I can’t say much more without spoilers, but this movie probably isn’t what you think it is, and I also think it was misread by many critics as a warning about postpartum depression. I found this screenplay to be a lot more subtle than that; to me it was an exploration of older motherhood, and what it means to integrate your younger and older selves. IMDB * REVIEW * TRAILER
TV CORNER
Bad Sisters (2022)
Created by Brett Baer, Dave Finkel, and Sharon Horgan
1 hour episodes; Streaming on Apple+
Created by and starring Sharon Horgan (who you may know from Catastrophe and This Way Up) it’s about four sisters who may or may not have conspired to murder their truly awful brother-in-law. The first episode opens at the brother-in-law’s funeral, and then flashes back to the months leading up to his death. A present-day timeline concerns the investigation into his death, conducted by a local insurance company that is reluctant to pay out. The season began a few weeks ago, so I have no idea if it will stick the landing, but it’s already so entertaining that I don’t care. In addition to Horgan’s creative hand, all the episodes are directed by women. IMDB * REVIEW * TRAILER