By Jennifer McShane
04th Feb 2017
04th Feb 2017
Before?I start, thankfully, there is going to be much more than three female-fronted films released this year – all of which will feature women in front of and behind the camera – but below are three that are generating considerable, boundary-breaking buzz, not least because they all are helmed by female directors. Women are having a moment, so to speak. Trump’s attempt?to silence has only made us unite, and when it comes to seeing this reflected in film, things are changing too. There is simply more. More voices being heard, more projects by women, for women and more standing up and opposing the male-dominated status quo, saying, this (below), is what we want to see on screen. Below are three female-led films you simply must watch this year:
Wonder Woman
Directed by Patty Jenkins (who was behind the Oscar-winning?Monster), Wonder Woman is Jenkins’s first theatrical feature in 16 years, and she’s come back with a resolute bang, helping to finally give an iconic character her own film.?After years of male-dominated superhero movies taking centre stage, women or, more specifically, a woman is about to steal their thunder. DC Comics have answered the prayers of many, placing one strong, ass-kicking, baddy-fighting female in the lead role instead of pigeonholing her into the overdone damsel in distress stereotype that?frankly, we’ve had enough of. Here is a female character who isn’t dependent on a man for survival; she’s out there on her own and well able to cope with whatever comes her way. Yes, we didn’t think she was an appropriate choice as a UN Ambassador?but she still deserves?her own film, and we’re still damn excited to see it. Set to be one of the summer’s biggest blockbuster films, finally a female superhero who doesn’t have to share the spotlight.
Release date: June 2nd.
The Beguiled
Written and directed by the wonderful Sofia Coppola, her sixth feature, The Beguiled, ?is a remake of the 1971 Don Siegel/Clint Eastwood Civil War-set drama, all centred around women. ?This era is new territory for the Lost in Translation‘director, and even the cast is worth shouting about: Elle Fanning, Nicole Kidman and Coppola favourite, Kirsten Dunst all have leading?roles. Fanning is set to play to play a student at a Civil War-era girls boarding school,?Kidman?is to play the school’s headmistress, and Dunst will play one of the instructors. The institution is rocked by the arrival of a wounded soldier (played by our own Colin Farrell), who charms women inside the school, creating a storm of jealousy and betrayal. It’s very much heading into The Virgin Suicides territory, and like all her previous efforts, it promises to be a definite must-see.
Release date: June 23rd.
We Have Always Lived in the Castle
At last, we see a film adaptation of?what is one of author?Shirly Jackson’s creepiest short stories – We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Directed by Stacie Passon, our narrator is teenager Merricat (played by Taissa Farmiga?of The Bling Ring), who practices magic, and lives an isolated existence with her sister, Constance (played by Alexandra Daddario of True Detective). Both were rejected by society; the local village believes that Constance was the cause of deaths of other family members and, as a result, she ventures no further?than her back garden. The book is dark and chilling, so we’re expecting big things from this one.
Release date: TBC December 2017
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