Tag Archives: female lead

“When Night Is Falling” by Patricia Rozema (Canada, 1995)

Lesbian love seen by a female director

When Night Is Falling (sec view)

The passion a woman feels for another woman makes her abandon all her moral certitudes / Some weaknesses in the script / Excellent camera work on bodies and movement

Cast: Pascale Bussières, Rachael Crawford, Henry Czerny
Director: Patricia Rozema
Writer: Patricia Rozema
Music by Lesley Barber
Cinematography by Douglas Koch
Film Editing by Susan Shipton

“A Perfect Ending” by Nicole Conn (USA, 2012)

Lesbian love seen by a female director

A Perfect Ending

An unnecessary soapy script saved by good acting and directing, and the surprising editing / Shunned by critics

Cast: Barbara Niven, Bryan Mordechai Jackson, Jessica Clark
Director: Nicole Conn
Writer: Nicole Conn
Music by Bob Fowler, Stephen Ridley
Cinematography by Tal Lazar
Film Editing by Nicole Conn

“I Can’t Think Straight” by Shamim Sarif (UK, 2008)

Lesbian love seen by a female director

I can't think straight

Less audacious than her preceding movie, but better acting, a more confident direction, and a nice touch of humor

Cast: Lisa Ray, Sheetal Sheth, Antonia Frering
Director: Shamim Sarif
Writers: Shamim Sarif, Kelly Moss
Music by Raiomond Mirza
Cinematography by Aseem Bajaj
Film Editing by David Martin

“The World Unseen” by Shamin Sarif (South Africa, 2007)

Lesbian love seen by a female director

 

The World Unseen

Weakness in the script, stiff acting, clumsy direction, but lots of good intention in Sarif’s debut feature: “Everyone’s breaking barriers and causing trouble in this film, or least yearning to.” Jay Antani

Cast: Lisa Ray, Sheetal Sheth, Parvin Dabas, Nandana Sen, Grethe Fox, David Dennis, Bernard White, Colin Moss, Amber Ross Revah, Rajesh Gopie
Director: Shamim Sarif
Screenwriter/novelist: Shamim Sarif
Music by Richard Blackford
Cinematography by Michael Downie
Film Editing by David Martin

“Project Eden vol.1” by Ashlee Jensen & Terrance Young (USA, 2017)

Project Eden I

Very foreseeable developments, many cliches (the mafia speaks Russian, to make sure we know it is the mafia), enormous mistakes in the continuity (after she has been running hard for a few hundred meters, he asks her if she can walk), and a dystopian setting that is not even necessary to the plot… The few twists after an hour or so don’t make it better. One of the worse movies I’ve ever seen!

Actors: Erick Avari, Mike Dopud, Anna McGahan
Directors: Ashlee Jensen, Terrance M. Young
Writers: Ashlee Jensen, Terrance M. Young | 1 more credit »
Music by Jamie Murgatroyd
Cinematography by Christopher Lange
Film Editing by Terrance M. Young

“Red Sparrow” by Francis Lawrence (USA, 2018)

Red Sparrow

Inspired opening, tedious follow-up

Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton, Jeremy Irons, Ciarán Hinds, Matthias Schoenaerts, Joely Richardson, Mary-Louise Parker, Charlotte Rampling
Director: Francis Lawrence
Based upon the book by Jason Matthews
Writer: Justin Haythe
Cinematographer: Jo Willems
Editor: Alan Edward Bell
Composer: James Newton Howard

“Every Secret Thing” by Amy Berg (USA, 2014)

Every Secret Thing

Good acting, good drama / “The interrogation scenes, between Alice and a detective played by Elizabeth Banks, explore the social disadvantages of a fat woman with a stark bluntness that’s unheard of in a popular cinema” writes Chuck Bowen.

Cast: Diane Lane, Elizabeth Banks, Dakota Fanning, Danielle Macdonald
Director: Amy Berg
Screenplay: Nicole Holofcener
Novel: Laura Lippman
Director of Photography: Rob Hardy
Editor: Ron Patane, Billy McMillin