With International Women’s Day coming up on Monday March 8, we’re celebrating female-fronted films with women directors and leads that break away from the clichés and stereotypes. Here are seven top women-led movies to watch this month. For more powerful women to support, click here.
Booksmart
We might be more used to seeing Olivia Wilde in front of the camera but the famous actor made her behind the camera debut as director in 2019 with coming of age film Booksmart. The story follows two girls, Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) and Molly (Beanie Feldstein) as two graduating high school girls who set out to finally break the rules and party on their last day of classes before heading off to college. It’s full of genuine laugh out loud moments and more moments we can relate to than we’d like to admit. A super debut and well worth a watch.
Clueless
If you’re in the mood for ’90s nostalgia then it doesn’t come much better than this. Amy Heckling directs Alicia Silverstone in this rom-com that proved to be a career-defining role. Long before the likes of Real Housewives and its predecessors brought the excesses of the rich and famous billowing on to our screens, Clueless was poking fun at those who have it all and still complain. Here, our protagonist Cher is the most popular girl at high school (a wealthy one, too) and turns her hand at matchmaking by setting up two teachers. It’s light hearted and often amusing, with Silverstone never better as the girl you love to hate, and hate to love. Based on Jane Austen’s 1815 novel Emma, it’s a ’90s take on a classic that proved a massive hit.
Lady Bird
Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf both shine as mother and daughter in this coming-of-age dramedy. With Greta Gerwig at the helm as director, the film follows the story of 17-year-old Christine (Lady Bird) who longs for adventure and excitement as she navigates her final year of high school and moves towards a world of possibilities in university and beyond once the final school bell tolls.
Little Women
You’ve maybe read the book or seen the original film but the latest take on the classic novel is a real cracker. Based on Louisa May Alcott’s magnum opus, the 2019 cinematic version, directed (again) by Greta Gerwig boasts an all-star cast with the likes of Emma Watson, Saoirse Ronan (again), Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlan and Laura Dern. The story, if you don’t know it, follows the fate of four March sisters as they each forge a life for themselves and navigate societal expectations and love’s ups and downs along the way. It’s another one where you need to keep the tissues handy because tears may well flow when watching this one.
Marie Antoinette
Sophia Coppola is in director’s chair for this film that she also wrote. The films tells the story of Marie Antoinette, an Austrian archduchess who is under pressure to produce an heir to the French throne after marrying into France’s royal family. If you’re familiar with the story you’ll know things get a bit heavy as an anti-royal revolt sweep France. Playing the titular character is none other than Kirsten Dunst who steals the show.
The Farewell
Strap yourselves in for an emotional roller coaster. Lulu Wang is in the director’s chair for this film with the fast-rising star Awkwafina in the lead role. Shot using both Mandarin and English, follows Billi (Awkwafina) upon her return to China from the United States to visit her beloved grandmother who has been diagnosed with cancer. Billi struggles to understand why her family decides to keep the severity of her gran’s illness from her as they organise an impromptu wedding so they can all see their marvellous matriarch one last time. See, we told you, it’s emotional.
Wonder Woman
Patty Jenkins takes the directorial lead in this punch-packing superhero film, while Gal Gadot excels in a role she might well have been born for. Not wanting to jinx Gadot for her future (clearly fruitful) career, her turn as Diana Prince is utterly compelling. Not only was the this the first major superhero blockbuster to focus on a female hero but it also made big waves at the box office, bringing in more than US$8m (approximately Dhs29m) around the world. As for the plot, we Wonder Woman wannabes follow Diana as she leaves the hidden island of Amazonia after a chance encounter with a pilot who leads her out into the ‘real world’ which, in 1918, is at war. It’s packed full of great action sequences, a handful of gags and some iconic scenes as Diana goes over the top of the trenches to face enemy fire. If you’re looking for a great action film, that champions women, you can’t go wrong here. Can’t get enough of Wonder Woman films? Tune into Wonder Woman 1984, which was released last year, with more super performances from Gadot.
