Category Archives: romance,

“The Girl In The Book” by Marya Cohn (USA, 2015)

First feature

The Girl In The Book

Story nicely told in the present, paralleled with flashbacks
Excellent acting, extremely poised direction, sober but right to the point

A movie that makes you fathom some of the consequences of child abuse

Cast: Emily VanCamp, Courtney Daniels, Jordan Lage
Director: Marya Cohn
Writer: Marya Cohn
Music by Will Bates
Cinematography by Trevor Forrest
Film Editing by Jessica Brunetto

“The Matrix Revolutions” by Lana & Lilly Wachowski (Australia, 2003)

The Art of the Wachowski (sisters)

The Matrix Revolutions

Now that the philosophical hype has faded into oblivion, let’s enjoy the amazing visual effects and the good action in which most key roles are attributed to women, especially in this last pane of the trilogy.
An all-powerful Deus Ex Machina saves the show!

Cast: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Jada Pinkett Smith, Carrie-Anne Moss, Helmut Bakaitis, Hugo Weaving, Mary Alice, Monica Bellucci, Harry J. Lennix, Ian Bliss
Written and directed by Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski
Music by Don Davis
Cinematography by Bill Pope
Film Editing by Zach Staenberg

“Jupiter Ascending” by Lana & Andy Wachowski (USA, 2015)

The Art of the Wachowski (sisters)

Jupiter Ascending

Excellent special effects but repetitive situations, long action sequences that do not bring anything forward, and weak gender representation

Cast: Channing Tatum, Mila Kunis, Eddie Redmayne, Tuppence Middleton, Sean Bean, Douglas Booth, Jo Osmond, Terry Gilliam, DooNa Bae, Vanessa Kirby, James D’Arcy
Director: Lana Wachowski, Andy Wachowski
Screenplay: Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski
Original Music Composer: Michael Giacchino

“Love Of My Life” by Joan Carr-Wiggin (Canada, 2017)

Love Of My Life

Same theme and situations as in her first feature [how to recapture a husband who cheats on you and revive love after having been married for so many years?] with a middle-aged woman as lead (compliment), but in a weaker scenario that some surprising moments do not beef up, with not much content added.
Still very good dialogues and very good acting by Anna Chancellor!

Cast: Anna Chancellor, John Hannah, Hermione Norris
Director: Joan Carr-Wiggin
Writer: Joan Carr-Wiggin
Cinematography by Bruce Worrall

“If I Were You” by Joan Carr-Wiggin (UK, 2012)

if I were you

Two women fight for the love of one man by manipulating him and each other Paralleling King Lear – a role that the female lead endorses – three men fight for the love of the heroin
Good acting and dialogues
According to the few ratings available, critics and public are certainly divided!

Cast: Marcia Gay Harden, Leonor Watling, Joseph Kell
Director: Joan Carr-Wiggin
Writer: Joan Carr-Wiggin
Music by Paolo Buonvino, Guy Farley
Cinematography by Bruce Worrall

“Princess Cyd” by Stephen Cone (USA, 2017)

Princess Cyd

Sex and relationships in the eyes of a teenage girl and a woman in her late 40’s.
A movie staging 3 women in a finely-tuned coming-of-age and out-of-the-closet story, with balanced personages, multi-faceted sexual identities, and an healthy racial distribution.
“You may look at Miranda, and think immediately, ‘Oh, okay, I know who that woman is’. You would be wrong. The same for Cyd. ‘Oh, okay. Bored teenager sunbathing in a bikini. I know who that is’. Again, you would be wrong.” writes Sheila O’Malley.

Cast: Rebecca Spence, Jessie Pinnick, Malic White, James Vincent Meredith, Tyler Ross, Matthew Quattrocki
Director: Stephen Cone
Writer: Stephen Cone
Editor: Christopher Gotschall
Director of Photography: Zoe White
Original Music Composer: Heather McIntosh

“Chicken With Plums” by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud (France, 2011)

Working in duo: male and female directing

Chicken With Plums

At times magic and a fantastic cast / The strength of the story gets a bit lost through the complex editing

Cast: Mathieu Amalric, Maria de Medeiros, Edouard Baer, Golshifteh Farahani, Isabella Rossellini
Directed by Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud
Written by Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud
Music by Olivier Bernet
Cinematography by Christophe Beaucarne
Film Editing by Stéphane Roche