2010 Oscar Nominees: Best Picture

What We Owe to Buffy

Without any question, Buffy revolutionized the role of women on television, more even than Mary Tyler Moore or Cagney and Lacey or Murphy Brown or Ally McBeal. If you look at female heroes (as opposed to hapless heroines–I have always thought that the definition of heroine should be “endangered female in need of rescue by male hero”) in the history of TV, you will be astonished at how few there are prior to the nineties. You have Annie Oakley in the fifties and Emma Peel on The Avengers in the sixties, and to a degree Wonder Woman (who spent a great deal of her time worrying about impressing her boss Col. Steve Trevor) and The Bionic Woman (the weaker spin off to The Six Million Dollar Man). This all changed in the nineties, first with Dana Scully on The X-Files and then with Xena. But the former, as competent as she was as an FBI professional, was not sufficiently iconic to change TV, while the latter, sufficiently iconic, was too cartoonish to inspire future female heroes. Buffy was the turning point. You can write the history of female heroes on TV as Before Buffy and After Buffy. It is not a coincidence that most of the female heroes on TV arose in the wake of the little blonde vampire slayer. Look at the roster: Aeryn Sun (Farscape), Max (Dark Angel), Sydney Bristow (Alias), Kate Austin (Lost), Kara “Starbuck” Thrace (along with a plethora of other strong women on Battlestar Galactica), Olivia Dunham (Fringe), Sarah Connor and Cameron (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles), Veronica Mars, and an almost uncountable number of lesser characters. Buffy made TV safe for strong women. This isn’t art, but it is the content of art. Buffy guaranteed that TV as art would make a place for heroic women.

Golden Globe Nominated Films: In Posters

I’m excited for this year’s film nominees! Julie & Julia stars two awesome actresses: Meryl Streep and Amy Adams. Streep also stars in It’s Complicated, which was written and directed by Nancy Meyers. Nine (while, admittedly, might potentially sexually exploit the actresses) still boasts an all-star cast of women, including Oscar winners Nicole Kidman, Judi Dench, Marion Cotillard, and Penelope Cruz. Kathryn Bigelow has gotten all kinds of press for directing The Hurt Locker, and, while Up in the Air gives Clooney top-billing, I have no doubt that Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick will wake up to Oscar nominations in February for their wonderful performances. And Precious! What a great year for the many women involved with this film. Kudos to the Golden Globes for recognizing so many women in film this year!

Can Anybody Make a Movie for Women?

NANCY MEYERS may be a singular figure in Hollywood — may, in fact, be the most powerful female writer-director-producer currently working (not that there’s much competition) — but that doesn’t appear to give the 60-year-old blonde a whole lot of social clout. On a Monday evening in late October, for instance, it didn’t stop the owner of Vincenti, a small, much-in-demand Italian eatery in Brentwood, from asking Meyers whether she would mind switching tables come 8 p.m. True, ours was a prime corner booth, and the owner, a fierce-looking woman with coal-black hair who would fit nicely into a Fellini film, assured Meyers that she was only being asked this favor because the person who requested the table was an investor in the restaurant. (He turned out to be Howard Weitzman, a lawyer whose clients have included O. J. Simpson and Michael Jackson.) But it still gave me pause. You know, the whole sexual-politics thing rearing its timeworn, fractious head: a powerful man trumps any woman. (“When you describe how influential I am in Hollywood,” Meyers ruefully observed to me, “say we were thrown out of our booth.”)

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: A Closer Look

As I took a closer look at the list of nominees for the Independent Spirit Awards, I couldn't believe, once again, how many of the films are male-driven. While this list certainly involves many more female-driven films than is usually the case with Oscar nominees or even Golden Globe nominees, I still can't help feeling frustrated by this. I was immediately reminded of the words of Eileen Hunter, a guest reviewer of the film Pirate Radio. She wrote:

I had a discussion with my husband after the film, and pointed out that most women perceive themselves as the protagonists of their own lives, not as an avid audience for men as they play out their stories. My experience throughout my life when watching movies like this has been to desperately try to find a place for myself among the male characters ...

... The sad thing about this film is that I could have really enjoyed it otherwise. As I was watching it I wondered why I was feeling so fatigued, and I realized it was because it was yet another time that I was expected to happily stand in the sidelines and watch boys have lots of fun. That's such a bummer to me nowadays that I can't even pretend to be enthused anymore.

And that's pretty much how I feel right now, after examining the nominees and realizing that, with the exception of Precious, every single female-driven film that was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award (with the possible exception of a few of the performance-related nominees) is, in fact, a non-English language film. (Note: An Education, though an English-language film, is still considered a foreign film—and is nominated in that category—because it's from the UK.)

So, what gives? What do all the readers think about this phenomenon? Is it that we're just not making progressive films in the U.S.? And is a female-driven film something we should actually have to consider progressive at this point?

Below, I've listed the nominated films and have gathered a brief synopsis of each from either imdb or rotten tomatoes. For the films that don't seem to be exclusively either male- or female-driven, I've listed them as ensemble-driven. (One could argue, as I did in my review, that a romantic comedy like 500 Days of Summer treats the male as the protagonist and might not fit in the ensemble-driven category, but it walks a fine line, so I'll leave it off the male-driven list.)

Male-Driven Film Nominees

Zero Bridge: In occupied Kashmir, where every day is another lesson in survival, a teenage petty criminal's last chance at escape is threatened when he faces a moral crisis over his last victim. (Urdu/English)

Humpday: Two guys take their bromance to another level when they participate in an art film project.

Big Fan: Paul Aufiero, a hardcore New York Giants football fan, struggles to deal with the consequences when he is beaten up by his favorite player.

A Serious Man: A black comedy set in 1967 and centered on Larry Gopnik, a Midwestern professor who watches his life unravel when his wife prepares to leave him because his inept brother won't move out of the house.

Two Lovers: A Brooklyn-set romantic drama about a bachelor torn between the family friend his parents wish he would marry and his beautiful but volatile new neighbor.

A Single Man: A story that centers on an English professor who, after the sudden death of his partner tries to go about his typical day in Los Angeles.

The Messenger: An American soldier struggles with an ethical dilemma when he becomes involved with a widow of a fallen officer.

Easier With Practice: In an effort to promote his unpublished novel, Davy Mitchell sets out on a road trip with his younger brother.

Crazy Heart: Bad Blake is a broken-down, hard-living country music singer who's had way too many marriages, far too many years on the road and one too many drinks way too many times. And yet, Bad can’t help but reach for salvation with the help of Jean, a journalist who discovers the real man behind the musician.

Anvil: At 14, best friends Robb Reiner and Lips made a pact to rock together forever. Their band, Anvil, hailed as the "demi-gods of Canadian metal," influenced a musical generation that includes Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax, despite never hitting the big time.

More Than a Game: This documentary follows NBA superstar LeBron James and four of his talented teammates through the trials and tribulations of high school basketball in Ohio and James' journey to fame.

Un Prophete: A young Arab man is sent to a French prison where he becomes a mafia kingpin. (French/Arabic/Corsican)

Adventureland: A comedy set in the summer of 1987 and centered around a recent college grad who takes a nowhere job at his local amusement park, only to find it's the perfect course to get him prepared for the real world.

The Vicious Kind: A man tries to warn his brother away from the new girlfriend he brings home during Thanksgiving, but ends up becoming infatuated with her in the process.

Cold Souls: Paul Giamatti stars as himself, agonizing over his interpretation of "Uncle Vanya." Paralyzed by anxiety, he stumbles upon a solution via a New Yorker article about a high-tech company promising to alleviate suffering by extracting souls.

Bad Lieutenant: While investigating a young nun's rape, a corrupt New York City police detective, with a serious drug and gambling addiction, tries to change his ways and find forgiveness.

Female-Driven Film Nominees

Treeless Mountain: In Seoul, Korea, two sisters must look after one another when their mother leaves them to search for their estranged father. (Korean)

Sin Nombre: Honduran teenager Sayra reunites with her father, an opportunity for her to potentially realize her dream of a life in the U.S. Moving to Mexico is the first step in a fateful journey of unexpected events. (Spanish)

Precious: In Harlem, an overweight, illiterate teen who is pregnant with her second child is invited to enroll in an alternative school in hopes that her life can head in a new direction.

Amreeka: A drama centered on an immigrant single mother and her teenage son in small town Illinois. (English/Arabic)

Everlasting Moments: In a time of social change and unrest, war and poverty, a young working class woman, Maria, wins a camera in a lottery. The decision to keep it alters her whole life. (Swedish/Finnish)

The Maid: A drama centered on a maid trying to hold on to her position after having served a family for 23 years. (Spanish)

Mother: A woman is forced to investigate a murder after her son is wrongfully accused of the crime. (Korean)

An Education: A coming-of-age story about a teenage girl in 1960s suburban London, and how her life changes with the arrival of a playboy nearly twice her age. (English, from the UK)

Ensemble-Driven Film Nominees

The New Year Parade: When Mike and Lisa separate, their children suffer quietly in the middle of the annual Mummer's Parade.

The Last Station: The Countess Sofya, wife and muse to Leo Tolstoy, uses every trick of seduction on her husband's loyal disciple, whom she believes was the person responsible for Tolstoy signing a new will that leaves his work and property to the Russian people.

500 Days of Summer: An offbeat romantic comedy about a woman who doesn't believe true love exists, and the young man who falls for her.

Paranormal Activity: After moving into a suburban home, a couple becomes increasingly disturbed by a nightly demonic presence.

Which Way Home: Which Way Home is a feature documentary film that follows unaccompanied child migrants, on their journey through Mexico, as they try to reach the United States. (English/Spanish)

October Country: October Country is a beautifully filmed portrait of an American family struggling for stability while haunted by the ghosts of war, teen pregnancy, foster care and child abuse.

Food, Inc.: An unflattering look inside America's corporate controlled food industry.

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About a month ago, Publisher's Weekly made news with its list of the Top Ten Best Books of 2009. Not surprisingly, the list included no women, and the group WILLA: Women in Letters and Literary Arts, spoke out strongly against the embarrassing omission. They decided to compile their own list, with the help of anyone wanting to contribute, called Great Books By Women In 2009. As awards season for films continues to gain momentum, and considering past and current evidence of the omission of women in all areas of film, I'd love to see us come up with a list of Great Female-Driven Films of 2009. Leave your favorites in the comments section!

Independent Spirit Award Nominations

You can also read a more comprehensive list of the nominees here. Also, check out our reviews of Two Lovers and 500 Days of Summer, and our previews of Humpday, Everlasting Moments, and Precious.

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD

BEST FEATURE

BEST DIRECTOR

Coen Bros., Lee Daniels, Cary Fukunaga, James Gray, Michael Hoffman

BEST FIRST FEATURE

BEST DOCUMENTARY

BEST FOREIGN FILM

BEST SCREENPLAY

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Director Spotlight: Allison Anders

Welcome to our first installment of Director Spotlight, where we explore the biographies and filmographies of an often overlooked group: women film directors.

Here is an excerpt from the AMC biography on Allison Anders:

The hardships encountered and overcome by director Allison Anders are often reflected in the grittiness and strength of her female characters, a quality that lends her stories a tough but refreshing honesty. Anders cares about her characters, but she refuses to give them falsely happy endings and this refusal distinguishes her from other directors of so-called women's films who make their movies into little more than celluloid Hallmark cards. Anders' approach to this kind of storytelling has given her distinction in the film industry and she continues to make films that challenge conventional attitudes toward both women and films about women.

Born November 16, 1954, in Ashland, KY, Anders had an upbringing that was nothing if not traumatic. At the age of five, she, her mother, and four sisters were abandoned by her father, and were forced into an unstable, itinerant lifestyle. At the age of 12, Anders was raped and then endured abuse from her stepfather, who at one point threatened her with a gun. Anders suffered a mental breakdown when she was 15 years old, after her mother took her daughters to Los Angeles to escape further abuse. Following time in psychiatric wards, later in foster homes and jail, Anders ventured back to Kentucky, then moved to London with the man who would father her daughter.

Be sure to read her entire biography here. You can also check out several interviews with Anders where she discusses her childhood and the making of her films in great detail here, here, and here.

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Border Radio: 1987

Starring Chris D. and Chris Shearer

Independent Film Quarterly critic Todd Konrad summarizes the film as follows:

Chris D plays Jeff, an underground singer-songwriter who along with his bandmate Dean (played by Doe) and hanger-on Chris (played by Chris Spencer), rob a local rock club of both money and drugs. In order to avoid retribution from the club owner and his henchmen, Jeff escapes across the border to Mexico where he hides out to let the heat die down. Left in the lurch is Jeff’s wife Luanna and their young daughter Devon (played respectively by Anders’ real life sister and daughter, Luanna and Devon Anders). In order to keep things together, Luanna, a local rock journalist, is left to play detective in order to figure out exactly what happened to send Jeff away. The hope being that she will find a way to bring her man back from across the border and fix whatever problems he may have incurred in doing so.

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Gas Food Lodging: 1992
Starring Brooke Adams, Ione Skye, Fairuza Balk, and James Brolin

In her New York Times Critics' Pick Review, Janet Maslin writes:

Imagine "The Last Picture Show" shot in color and shaped by a rueful feminine perspective, in a place where women are hopelessly anchored while the men drift through like tumbleweed. The becalmed town of Laramie, N.M., is the setting in which Nora (Brooke Adams), a hard-working waitress with a knowing, generous grin, has tried to bring up her two unruly daughters.

***

Mi Vida Loca (aka My Crazy Life): 1993
Starring Angel Aviles, Seidy Lopez, Devine, Monica Lutton, and Christina Solis

Check out the New York Times, where Caryn James opens her review with:

In "Mi Vida Loca My Crazy Life," Allison Anders tries what few directors would have had the interest or intelligence to think of. She looks beyond the surface of the lives of Hispanic girl gangs and attempts to create a deeper portrait of young women in the Echo Park section of Los Angeles. They use gang names, like Sad Girl, Mousie and Whisper. And though violence is part of their lives, they are likely to be teen-age mothers struggling to get by.

***

Four Rooms (segment "The Missing Ingredient"): 1995
Starring Sammi Davis, Valeria Golino, Madonna, Ione Skye, and Lily Taylor

This film was widely panned by critics. Four directors participated, and each director created their own segment. Anders wrote and directed "The Missing Ingredient," about which James Berardinelli of reelviews.net writes:

The story—what little there is—revolves around a witches' coven trying to resurrect the spirit of a stripper. All the ingredients (mother's milk, virgin's blood, sweat of five men's thighs, and a year's tears) are ready except for a sperm sample. Since witch Eva (Ione Skye) failed in her assignment to bring this vital component of the mixture, she is charged with seducing Ted and getting what she needs from him.

***

Grace of My Heart: 1996
Starring Illeana Douglas, Sissy Boyd, Christina Pickles, and Jill Sobule

Time Out Magazine writes:

Loosely inspired by the life of Carole King, this is a light, feminist take on 15 years of pop: hits and Ms, if you will. It begins with a bright, peppy tone, pastiching the nascent rock'n'roll scene with an affectionate smile and perfect pitch—the Larry Klein-produced soundtrack is spot on. But it's not all kitsch nostalgia: the period coincides with great social changes, particularly regarding the role of women, a recurrent Anders theme. Sharp cameos include Patsy Kensit's rival songwriter and Bridget Fonda's teen songbird with a secret love.

***

Sugar Town: 1999
Starring Jade Gordon, John Taylor, Michael Des Barres, and Martin Kemp

David Ansen at Newsweek writes:

It isn't easy growing old in the land of youth and beauty. It's even harder if you're a rock-and-roller who hasn't had a hit in decades, or a sexy leading lady now being offered parts as Christina Ricci's mother. "Sugar Town," an agreeably scruffy L.A. satire co-written and directed by Allison Anders and Kurt Voss, is filled with sharp, funny snapshots of the hustlers, has-beens, recovering junkies and Topanga Canyon earth mothers on the fringes of the Hollywood music biz.

Ten Years of Oscar-Winning Films: In Posters

We're coming up on that wonderful time of year when all the studios release their most worthy Best Picture Oscar contenders. This year, we're in store for such films as the all-star cast of the musical Nine, Scorcese's Shutter Island, and Eastwood's Invictus, which have all picked up early Oscar buzz, as have more independent films, like A Serious Man, An Education, and The Tree of Life. So, we thought that, in honor of the upcoming onslaught, we'd take a look at the past ten years of the Academy Award-winning films for Best Picture.

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American Beauty: 2000

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Gladiator: 2001


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A Beautiful Mind: 2002


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Chicago: 2003


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The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King: 2004


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Million Dollar Baby: 2005


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Crash: 2006


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The Departed: 2007

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No Country For Old Men: 2008

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Slumdog Millionaire: 2009

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What do these films have in common?

American Beauty: A man narrates the film, has a midlife crisis, and attempts to seduce and/or rape a potentially underage high school student.

Gladiator: A man in captivity avenges the murder of his wife and son by murdering their murderer.

A Beautiful Mind: A man at the height of his genius suffers from schizophrenia.

Chicago: A singing and dancing man attempts to save singing and dancing female inmates from death row.

The Lord of the Rings: Men go on a quest.

Million Dollar Baby: A man narrates the film, telling the story of his friend's attempt to train and manage a determined female boxer.

Crash: A cast of characters—male and female—illustrates our society's inability to distinguish between racism and prejudice.

The Departed: Men violently kill one another.

No Country For Old Men: A hired hitman goes on a killing spree with a captive bolt pistol.

Slumdog Millionaire: A man participates in a televised game-show, thinking it will help him find his long-lost love.

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I'm interested to see how the 2010 Academy Awards Ceremony will choose to honor this year's films, especially now that they've bumped up the number of Best Picture nominees to ten instead of five. With the amount of women-centered and/or directed films this year—Julie & Julia, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, Bright Star, Amelia, and The Hurt Locker, to name a few—I hope women will feel some of the Academy love. Don't forget to check back in February for analysis of the ten Best Picture nominees!

Movie Review: Pirate Radio

*This guest post also appears at Shakesville.

I saw Pirate Radio last night, and had one of those experiences where you can only really enjoy yourself if you turn half your brain off and pretend you're not getting the messages that are clearly being sent.

Early in Pirate Radio, just as I idly wondered where all of the women were, one of the characters refers to the only woman present with surprise. "I thought there were no women allowed on board…" And it is explained to him that an excuse is made for the cook, because she is a lesbian.

That is all the explanation deemed necessary for the total exclusion of women from the world of Pirate Radio, except as sex partners, mothers, food preparers, or avid audience-members. I have no trouble believing that the world of Pirate Radio in the sixties largely excluded women, but I didn't expect to find a movie so gleeful about the wonderland of boy bonding and camaraderie that, the movie posits, is only possible in a world where women are only allowed on board every other Saturday in order to provide sex.

The movie veers into an early scene of near-rape played for laughs as well. One of the successful DJs, feeling sympathetic toward a younger man because of his virginity, tries to trick his date for the night into having sex with the other man while the lights are turned off. He hopes that she won't notice the switch, in spite of a huge size differential between the two men. The scene is played entirely from their perspective, and while the younger man doesn't get near enough to the woman to touch her, there is a "ho ho ho, so funny my sides might split" scene in which the lights unexpectedly go on, and she screams as she finds herself alone in a room with a naked stranger. I was left with a queasy feeling at the end of that scene, wondering if this was what the whole movie would be.

While the movie doesn't play rape for laughs again, the only other two love interest characters who appear are betrayers and interlopers in boyland. One woman, while waiting for a man to find a condom, ends up sleeping with someone more famous because she finds him impressive. Another comes onboard to marry one DJ, without telling him that she's only doing it in order to sleep with someone else on the ship. I can imagine the first case happening in real life: When women have sexual agency they will sometimes decide to sleep with someone other than the person they start out an evening with. I can't imagine a context for the inexplicable cruelty of the second case though, and since she represents roughly one quarter of all women in this film, it is easy to assume that the film is endorsing the idea that all relationships with women are suspect, and only relationships between men are noble and pure.

More than anything, I wonder why the film felt it necessary to revel in the sexism of the world that it depicts. These men are not actually great rebels if they really expect women to be content providing sex and food. There may have been many great things about sixties Pirate Radio, but the exclusion of women was not one of those things, and the film would have been more effective if it had taken pains to include women rather than shrugging its shoulders early on and trying to opt out of the subject.

I had a discussion with my husband after the film, and pointed out that most women perceive themselves as the protagonists of their own lives, not as an avid audience for men as they play out their stories. My experience throughout my life when watching movies like this has been to desperately try to find a place for myself among the male characters. How can I be Phillip Seymour Hoffman? There is no space for women in this movie, so how do I rewrite the movie so I can fit myself in? I've been doing it for so long that it is almost natural to me, but I think it's time that it stopped.

The sad thing about this film is that I could have really enjoyed it otherwise. As I was watching it I wondered why I was feeling so fatigued, and I realized it was because it was yet another time that I was expected to happily stand in the sidelines and watch boys have lots of fun. That's such a bummer to me nowadays that I can't even pretend to be enthused anymore.

It wouldn't have been difficult for filmmakers to do a better job than this. One can acknowledge the sexism of an age while still admitting the personhood, value, and contributions of women. Beyond just their ability to cook up a tasty meal, I mean. My gleeful exclusion from this film turned what should have been a charming experience into another bitter pill. It's not 1967 anymore. I'm ready to throw those pills away.

Eileen Hunter has an MA in English and is working on an MLIS. She lives in California with her cat, husband, and daughter.