We live in interesting and changing times. The role of women in filmmaking is making major leaps forward and I, for one, am intrigued with the challenge. I like to think of myself as the Alan Alda of the indy film reviewing world. I like the idea of women taking charge in the film industry. They’re great managers and when you have to work with a team you need a good manager. Producers and Directors have to be able to communicate with large numbers of people. Women have been perfecting that role for millennia. The gender role is that of mother, housekeeper and boss of the proverbial nest. Throw a guy into the job of keeping up with 2 to 8 kids, coordinating school and hired help and balancing the household checkbook. It’ll drive one to drink. I tried it once and gave it up---or, rather gave the big job back to my wife. Now don’t get me wrong. I like blockbusters. Some of my favorites are Braveheart (despite Mel’s recent rants) Gladiator and Robin Hood (despite Russell’s recent rage induced actions) and the first Alien. American film is born out of violence and sex. The Great Train Robbery is the perfect case study. A helpless ‘victimized’ woman is tied to the tracks of an oncoming train. If the hero rescues her it is implied that her gratitude will be so great she’ll let him all up into her grill. If he fails in his mission she will be violently dismembered. But what if the same film had been made by a woman? Ida Lupino? Or Jane Campion? And played by Marlene Deitrich or Bette Davis? What if Angelina Jolie or Jodie Foster played the part? How would the character use her own intelligence and problem solving skills to free herself? How would the frame be composed and what interesting things would we discover? I find that an interesting choice and the Europeans, particularly the French, have explored this idea of women as heroin (albeit in a more subtle form) rather than victim for some time now. Look at the films of Catherine Deneuve and Isabella Huppert. By the way, Angelina opens in a new film called Salt later this year and I look forward to seeing her play an action figure and carrying the story. Another fantastic development is the historic win of Kathryn Bigelow, the first woman to win a Best Director Oscar for The Hurt Locker. It’s about damn time. The studio system has been a male dominated business since the beginning. Men make movies men want to see. It’s quite rare to find a male director willing to make a chick flick ‘just because’. But if the demographic says there will be money made then they’ll do it. I find it interesting that a glass ceiling has been in place for a particular gender. Exceptional story-telling is genderless. Exceptional talent is genderless. If the person can convey an engaging and insightful and, yes---emotional response from an audience, what difference does it make. We are in the midst of a heightened ‘henny penny syndrome’ to coin a phrase from aquarium age by Ralfee Finn. With the fall of the real estate market, the financial institutions, the health care system, our increasingly inept education system, the ongoing war and the ecological disaster of the gulf, people feel like the sky is falling. And rightly so. The daily stress of navigating our own private lives with the world about to implode does not make for a relaxing and enjoyable existence at the moment. Add to that the distractions of being connected via blackberry, FB, email and you tube and we are quite an isolated society. Our interactions come from the internet and not so much face to face encounters anymore. We as sentient beings seek comfort. And one of those ways is to be entertained by a good yarn. We can step out of our mundane existence and identify with heroes and the hero’s journey. Some like the tried and true formulaic tales because they know what the end brings. And to the studios it brings revenue. However, formula grows stale and the curious and adventuresome will give their time and money to an original and creative expression. That is the difference between art and commerce. The world is unpredictable. Throw children into the mix and you have to be flexible and alert. That’s where I know women excel. Another film about to open that, honestly, I wasn’t sure I would like is The Children Are All Right by Lisa Cholodenko. I like her work. High Art was an interesting perspective on the human condition. It revived Ally Sheedy’s career and made Patricia Clarkson the toast of the town. Laurel Canyon made Frances McDormand a tour de Force. And now we have a film about a same sex marriage and their kids but ultimately it is about family and not about gender. It is universal and appealing to anyone who has ever dealt with family issues. As the paradigm of distribution and technology shifts I am willing to bet that more movies will be made and received with glowing reviews by women in the industry. As a nation and a global community the continuing trend of making socially conscious films is only a reflection of the current mindset of the audiences out there and a reaction to the more self-absorbed Hollywood movies of the recent past. In today’s culture to be famous is to be infamous. It requires no talent whatsoever, just a publicist and bad behavior. Corruption is uncovered at every turn with the bright light of truth and people wanting to believe in integrity and ethics. What do we teach our children to affect change? Mom and dad both work and they share the household responsibilities. No one wears the pants in the house. That will go the way of the horse and buggy. And truthfully that has been the great illusion for many hundreds of years. Women throughout history have not had a voice until the last fifty years.
I’ve had the opportunity to look at some of the assembly of A Rogue in Londinium and I find it fascinating that the director, Elizabeth Hamilton, has put the lead women in a place of power within a Victorian context. I keep wondering if Richard really is the killer or not and that is one of the threads of the film. The theme is Redemption. Can a killer be redeemed? If he is, indeed, the killer? In reality we will never know who Jack the Ripper was. We know what kind of man Richard is in the beginning and he is completely transformed by the woman he loves by the end. And Victoria is transformed by the act of love and loving despite the dangers and complexities she encounters. They both take a risk and shed their old selves to become renewed and redeemed together. Again a universal theme of going down into the underworld to slay the demons and rise from the ashes like the phoenix. There is violence and a little gore, provocative situations, sexual suggestiveness and very brief nudity. Nothing that hasn’t already been seen on HBO or Showtime. It had a very intense effect on me and it is because I wasn’t able to ‘see’ everything. I had to participate with the storyteller to fill in the places that aren’t overt. And that made me ‘feel’ on a very deep level. There is a scene that takes place at a celebratory dinner where the characters are all speculating about the perpetrator. Charles clarifies Prince Edward Victor’s prior statement: “I think what he is trying to say is that women operate under the influence of emotion whereas men operate under the influence of Intellect.” A very Victorian sentiment. When Richard is asked of his opinion he says: “I think to make a gross generalization about literally half the population is to do them a great disservice.” I must concur. I know plenty of men that operate from emotion and it usually ends up in a pissing contest or a bar brawl. And I also know plenty of women that operate from intellect. Some of my ex’s were too detached and steely to heat up the pleasure dome. When it comes right down to it, balance is the key in art, in love, in business, in life. So sayeth the maestro of Willyburg.
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