Tag Archives: Women Film Critics Circle

The Women Film Critics Circle Honors She Said

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Here are the 2022 winners from the Women’s Film Critics Circle!

BEST MOVIE ABOUT WOMEN
She Said (WINNER)
The Woman King
Till
Women Talking (RUNNER UP)

BEST MOVIE BY A WOMAN
Don’t Worry Darling – Olivia Wilde
Till – Chinonye Chukwu (RUNNER UP)
The Woman King – Gina Prince-Bythewood (RUNNER UP)
Women Talking – Sarah Polley (WINNER)

BEST WOMAN STORYTELLER (Screenwriting Award)
Rebecca Lenkiewicz – She Said (RUNNER UP)
Emma Donoghue  – The Wonder
Dana Stevens (and Maria Bello, story) – The Woman King
Sarah Polley – Women Talking (WINNER)

BEST ACTRESS
Vicky Krieps – Corsage
Michelle Yeoh – Everything Everywhere All at Once (WINNER)
Danielle Deadwyler – Till (RUNNER UP)
Cate Blanchett – TAR

BEST ACTOR
Colin Farrell – The Banshees of Inisherin (RUNNER UP)
Ke Huy Quan – Everything Everywhere All at Once
Bill Nighy – Living
Brendan Fraser – The Whale (WINNER)

BEST FOREIGN FILM BY OR ABOUT WOMEN
Corsage (RUNNER UP)
Girl
Happening (WINNER)
Murina
Rickshaw

BEST DOCUMENTARY BY OR ABOUT WOMEN
Aftershock
Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down
The Janes (WINNER)
Lucy and Desi (RUNNER UP)

BEST EQUALITY OF THE SEXES
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (RUNNER UP)
Fire of Love
Good Luck To You, Leo Grande (WINNER)
The Woman King

BEST ANIMATED FEMALE
Izzy Hawthorne – Lightyear (RUNNER UP)
Belle Bottom – Minions: The Rise of Gru
Meilin – Turning Red (WINNER)

BEST SCREEN COUPLE
Olivia Colman and Micheal Ward – Empire of Light
Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan – Everything Everywhere All at Once (WINNER)
Kevin Kline & Sigourney Weaver – The Good House (RUNNER UP)
Emma Thompson and Daryl McCormack – Good Luck To You, Leo Grande

BEST TV SERIES
Dead to Me (RUNNER UP TIE)
The Handmaid’s Tale (WINNER TIE)
Julia (RUNNER UP TIE)
Yellowjackets (WINNER TIE)

ADRIENNE SHELLY AWARD – For a film that most passionately opposes violence against women

ADRIENNE SHELLY AWARD: Adrienne Shelly was a promising actress and filmmaker who was brutally strangled in her apartment in 2006 at the age of forty by a construction worker in the building, after she complained about noise. Her killer tried to cover up his crime by hanging her from a shower rack in her bathroom, to make it look like suicide. He later confessed that he was having a “bad day.” Shelly, who left behind a baby daughter, had just completed her film Waitress, which she also starred in, and which was honored at Sundance after her death.

Don’t Worry Darling
Holy Spider
She Said (RUNNER UP)
Women Talking (WINNER)

JOSEPHINE BAKER AWARD – For best expressing the woman of colour experience in America

JOSEPHINE BAKER AWARD: The daughter of a laundress and a musician, Baker overcame being born black, female and poor, and marriage at age fifteen, to become an internationally acclaimed legendary performer, starring in the films Princess Tam Tam, Moulin Rouge and Zou Zou. She also survived the race riots in East St. Louis, Illinois as a child, and later expatriated to France to escape US racism. After participating heroically in the underground French Resistance during WWII, Baker returned to the US where she was a crusader for racial equality. Her activism led to attacks against her by reporter Walter Winchell who denounced her as a communist, leading her to wage a battle against him. Baker was instrumental in ending segregation in many theaters and clubs, where she refused to perform unless integration was implemented.

Alice
Master
Nanny (RUNNER UP)
Till (WINNER)

KAREN MORLEY AWARD – For best exemplifying a woman’s place in history or society, and a courageous search for identity

KAREN MORLEY AWARD: Karen Morley was a promising Hollywood star in the 1930s, in such films as Mata Hari and Our Daily Bread. She was driven out of Hollywood for her leftist political convictions by the Blacklist and for refusing to testify against other actors, while Robert Taylor and Sterling Hayden were informants against her. And also for daring to have a child and become a mother, unacceptable for female stars in those days. Morley maintained her militant political activism for the rest of her life, running for Lieutenant Governor on the American Labor Party ticket in 1954. She passed away in 2003, unrepentant to the end, at the age of 93.

Alice
The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson
The Woman King (RUNNER UP)
Women Talking (WINNER)

ACTING AND ACTIVISM AWARD
Geena Davis (WINNER)
Frances McDormand
Nichelle Nichols

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Angela Lansbury
Rita Moreno (WINNER)

THE WOMEN FILM CRITICS CIRCLE PAULINE KAEL JURY AWARDS 2022

BEST FEMALE ACTION HERO
Keke Palmer, Alice

BEST DIRECTRESS: COURAGE IN FILMMAKING
Olivia Wilde, Don’t Worry Darling

COURAGE IN ACTING
[Taking on unconventional roles that radically redefine the images of women on screen]
Danielle Deadwyler, Till
Anamaria Vartolomei, Happening

WOMEN’S WORK – BEST ENSEMBLE CAST
The Woman King

THE INVISIBLE WOMAN AWARD
[Supporting performance by a woman whose exceptional impact on the film dramatically, socially or historically, has been ignored]
Charmaine Bingwa, Emancipation

BEST KEPT SECRET – Overlooked Challenging Film Gems
Amitabh Reza Chowdhury, Rickshaw Girl
Nana Mensah, Queen Of Glory

WOMEN SAVING THEMSELVES AWARD
The Janes

MOMMIE DEAREST WORST SCREEN MOM OF THE YEAR
Blonde, Julianne Nicholson as Gladys

HALL OF SHAME
‘Unique, provocative and stylishly opinionated’…Fasten your seat belts!
[Individual WFCC Member Picks]

*The Gotham Awards. For removing the category Best Actress, in the further erasing of women.

*Anatomy Citation. “It doesn’t matter how much I do, I’m still not going to get paid as much as that guy, because of my vagina.” – Jennifer Lawrence speaks out against the continuing literal shortchanging of actresses – regarding Lawrence paid five million dollars less than Leonardo DiCaprio for “Don’t Look Up,” and less than the male cast Bradley Cooper, Christian Bale and Jeremy Renner for “American Hustle.”

*Cringe Citation. Harvey Weinstein’s shameful audiotape recordings. And being reminded of them/him in “She Said.”

*Too Much Information Citation: Emma Thompson, for “Good Luck To You, Leo Grande.”

*Blonde. For depicting only the worst fantasies about Marilyn Monroe, and none of her beauty, grace and intelligence.

*More Blonde. A film that re-exploited Marilyn Monroe and made me feel bad for her. She never had a chance in a man’s world, and this film exploited her again through the unnecessary explicit scenes.

*And More Blonde. An overrated actress romping through the film exposing herself. And why the constant showing of embryos, is it to champion pro-lifers.

*Even More Blonde. Completely inaccurate. The portrayal of the actress is shallow and cliched, and the part of the speaking embryo comes across as a disquieting anti-abortionist statement.”

*She Said. A drama about the NY Times investigation into the sex charges against Harvey Weinstein, “She Said” comes off more as a self-congratulatory promo for the NY Times, than emphasis on its victims and intimating a kind of damage control there for its own numerous scandals – the weapons of mass destruction hoax, and most recently calling for the release of Julian Assange –  without an apology for the paper’s media participation in orchestrating his incarceration.

*The Cannes Film Festival. For disrespecting credentialed Deadline critic and distinguished WFCC member Valerie Complex, treating her with racist implications as an intruder there.

*Shame On DOC NYC. For announcing then scrubbing the name off their public list, secretly inviting as guest of honor a cinematographer from the Ukraine Neo-Nazi Azov Battalion, Dmytro Kozatsky, who sports Nazi tattoos, and is fond of creating photographs of swastika carved pizzas, while dragging out from the premises a young woman protesting the event.

Here Are The 2022 Nominations of the Women Film Critics Circle

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Earlier today, the Women Film Critics Circle announced their nominees for the best of 2022.  The winners will be announced on December 21st.

BEST MOVIE ABOUT WOMEN
She Said
The Woman King
Till
Women Talking

BEST MOVIE BY A WOMAN
Don’t Worry Darling – Olivia Wilde
Till – Chinonye Chukwu
The Woman King – Gina Prince-Bythewood
Women Talking – Sarah Polley

BEST WOMAN STORYTELLER (Screenwriting Award)
Rebecca Lenkiewicz – She Said
Emma Donoghue – The Wonder
Dana Stevens (and Maria Bello, story) – The Woman King
Sarah Polley – Women Talking

BEST ACTRESS
Vicky Krieps – Corsage
Michelle Yeoh – Everything Everywhere All at Once
Danielle Deadwyler – Till
Cate Blanchett – TAR

BEST ACTOR
Colin Farrell – The Banshees of Inisherin
Ke Huy Quan – Everything Everywhere All at Once
Bill Nighy – Living
Brendan Fraser – The Whale

BEST FOREIGN FILM BY OR ABOUT WOMEN
Corsage
Girl
Happening
Murina
Rickshaw

BEST DOCUMENTARY BY OR ABOUT WOMEN
Aftershock
Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down
The Janes
Lucy and Desi

BEST EQUALITY OF THE SEXES
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Fire of Love
Good Luck To You, Leo Grande
The Woman King

BEST ANIMATED FEMALE
Izzy Hawthorne – Lightyear
Belle Bottom – Minions: The Rise of Gru
Meilin – Turning Red

BEST SCREEN COUPLE
Olivia Colman and Micheal Ward – Empire of Light
Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan – Everything Everywhere All at Once
Kevin Kline & Sigourney Weaver – The Good House
Emma Thompson and Daryl McCormack – Good Luck To You, Leo Grande

BEST TV SERIES
Dead to Me
The Handmaid’s Tale
Julia
Yellowjackets

ADRIENNE SHELLY AWARD – For a film that most passionately opposes violence against women

ADRIENNE SHELLY AWARD: Adrienne Shelly was a promising actress and filmmaker who was brutally strangled in her apartment in 2006 at the age of forty by a construction worker in the building, after she complained about noise. Her killer tried to cover up his crime by hanging her from a shower rack in her bathroom, to make it look like suicide. He later confessed that he was having a “bad day.” Shelly, who left behind a baby daughter, had just completed her film Waitress, which she also starred in, and which was honored at Sundance after her death.

Don’t Worry Darling
Holy Spider
She Said
Women Talking

JOSEPHINE BAKER AWARD – For best expressing the woman of colour experience in America

JOSEPHINE BAKER AWARD: The daughter of a laundress and a musician, Baker overcame being born black, female and poor, and marriage at age fifteen, to become an internationally acclaimed legendary performer, starring in the films Princess Tam Tam, Moulin Rouge and Zou Zou. She also survived the race riots in East St. Louis, Illinois as a child, and later expatriated to France to escape US racism. After participating heroically in the underground French Resistance during WWII, Baker returned to the US where she was a crusader for racial equality. Her activism led to attacks against her by reporter Walter Winchell who denounced her as a communist, leading her to wage a battle against him. Baker was instrumental in ending segregation in many theaters and clubs, where she refused to perform unless integration was implemented.

Alice
Master
Nanny
Till
KAREN MORLEY AWARD – For best exemplifying a woman’s place in history or society, and a courageous search for identity

KAREN MORLEY AWARD: Karen Morley was a promising Hollywood star in the 1930s, in such films as Mata Hari and Our Daily Bread. She was driven out of Hollywood for her leftist political convictions by the Blacklist and for refusing to testify against other actors, while Robert Taylor and Sterling Hayden were informants against her. And also for daring to have a child and become a mother, unacceptable for female stars in those days. Morley maintained her militant political activism for the rest of her life, running for Lieutenant Governor on the American Labor Party ticket in 1954. She passed away in 2003, unrepentant to the end, at the age of 93.

Alice
The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson
The Woman King
Women Talking

ACTING AND ACTIVISM AWARD
Geena Davis
Frances McDormand
Nichelle Nichols

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Angela Lansbury
Rita Moreno

THE WOMEN FILM CRITICS CIRCLE PAULINE KAEL JURY AWARDS 2022

BEST FEMALE ACTION HERO
Keke Palmer, Alice
BEST DIRECTRESS: COURAGE IN FILMMAKING
Olivia Wilde, Don’t Worry Darling
COURAGE IN ACTING
[Taking on unconventional roles that radically redefine the images of women on screen]
Danielle Deadwyler, Till
Anamaria Vartolomei, Happening
WOMEN’S WORK – BEST ENSEMBLE CAST
The Woman King
THE INVISIBLE WOMAN AWARD
[Supporting performance by a woman whose exceptional impact on the film dramatically, socially or historically, has been ignored]
Charmaine Bingwa, Emancipation
BEST KEPT SECRET – Overlooked Challenging Film Gems
Amitabh Reza Chowdhury, Rickshaw Girl
Nana Mensah, Queen Of Glory
WOMEN SAVING THEMSELVES AWARD
The Janes
MOMMIE DEAREST WORST SCREEN MOM OF THE YEAR
Blonde, Julianne Nicholson as Gladys
HALL OF SHAME
‘Unique, provocative and stylishly opinionated’…Fasten your seat belts!
[Individual WFCC Member Picks]
*The Gotham Awards. For removing the category Best Actress, in the further erasing of women.
*Anatomy Citation. “It doesn’t matter how much I do, I’m still not going to get paid as much as that guy, because of my vagina.” – Jennifer Lawrence speaks out against the continuing literal shortchanging of actresses – regarding Lawrence paid five million dollars less than Leonardo DiCaprio for “Don’t Look Up,” and less than the male cast Bradley Cooper, Christian Bale and Jeremy Renner for “American Hustle.”
*Cringe Citation. Harvey Weinstein’s shameful audiotape recordings. And being reminded of them/him in “She Said.”
*Too Much Information Citation: Emma Thompson, for “Good Luck To You, Leo Grande.”
*Blonde. For depicting only the worst fantasies about Marilyn Monroe, and none of her beauty, grace and intelligence.
*More Blonde. A film that re-exploited Marilyn Monroe and made me feel bad for her. She never had a chance in a man’s world, and this film exploited her again through the unnecessary explicit scenes.
*And More Blonde. An overrated actress romping through the film exposing herself. And why the constant showing of embryos, is it to champion pro-lifers.
*Even More Blonde. Completely inaccurate. The portrayal of the actress is shallow and cliched, and the part of the speaking embryo comes across as a disquieting anti-abortionist statement. My review…
*She Said. A drama about the NY Times investigation into the sex charges against Harvey Weinstein, “She Said” comes off more as a self-congratulatory promo for the NY Times, than emphasis on its victims and intimating a kind of damage control there for its own numerous scandals – the weapons of mass destruction hoax, and most recently calling for the release of Julian Assange – without an apology for the paper’s media participation in orchestrating his incarceration.
*The Cannes Film Festival. For disrespecting credentialed Deadline critic and distinguished WFCC member Valerie Complex, treating her with racist implications as an intruder there. On Being Black At Cannes: How Microaggressions Marred My Festival Experience
* Shame On DOC NYC. For announcing then scrubbing the name off their public list, secretly inviting as guest of honor a cinematographer from the Ukraine Neo-Nazi Azov Battalion, Dmytro Kozatsky, who sports Nazi tattoos, and is fond of creating photographs of swastika carved pizzas, while dragging out from the premises a young woman protesting the event.
What do you think of the nominations? Please let us know your thoughts on our Twitter account. Click here for more important upcoming dates this awards season and here for the most recent tally of awards season winners for the current year.

The Women Film Critics Circle Honors Passing!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Earlier today, Rebecca Hall’s haunting directorial debut, Passing, finally got some Oscar precursor love when it was named 2021’s Best Movie About Women by The Women Film Critics Circle.

Here are all the winners from WFCC:

BEST MOVIE ABOUT WOMEN
WINNER: Passing
RUNNER-UP: The Lost Daughter, Being the Ricardos & CODA

BEST MOVIE BY A WOMAN
WINNER: Jane Campion – The Power of the Dog
RUNNER-UP: Sian Heder – CODA, Nora Fingscheidt – The Unforgivable & Rebecca Hall – Passing

BEST WOMAN STORYTELLER (Screenwriting Award)
WINNER: Jane Champion – The Power of the Dog
RUNNER-UP: Rebecca Hall – Passing, Charlene Favier, Antoine Lacomblez and Marie Talon – Slalom & Sian Heder – CODA

BEST ACTRESS
WINNER: Kristen Stewart – Spencer
RUNNER-UP: Nicole Kidman – Being the Ricardos, Sandra Bullock – The Unforgivable & Virginie Efira – Benedetta

BEST ACTOR
WINNER: Will Smith – King Richard
RUNNER-UP: Benedict Cumberbatch – The Power of the Dog, Andrew Garfield – tick, tick… BOOM! & Nicolas Cage – Pig

BEST FOREIGN FILM BY OR ABOUT WOMEN
WINNER: Titane
RUNNER-UP: Drive My Car, Benedetta & I’m Your Man

BEST DOCUMENTARY BY OR ABOUT WOMEN
WINNER: Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It
RUNNER-UP: Introducing, Selma Blair, Gunda & Lady Buds

BEST EQUALITY OF THE SEXES
WINNER: King Richard
RUNNER-UP (TIE): Being the Ricardos, The Harder They Fall & Gunpowder Milkshake

BEST ANIMATED FEMALE
WINNER: Mirabel – Encanto
RUNNER-UP: Raya – Raya and the Last Dragon, Abuela Alma – Encanto & Gabi – Vivo

BEST SCREEN COUPLE
WINNER: Ruth Negga and Tessa Thompson – Passing
RUNNER-UP (TIE): Marlee Matlin and Troy Kotsur – CODA, Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem – Being the Ricardos & Anthony Ramos and Melissa Barrera – In The Heights

ADRIENNE SHELLY AWARD – For a film that most passionately opposes violence against women

ADRIENNE SHELLY AWARD: Adrienne Shelly was a promising actress and filmmaker who was brutally strangled in her apartment in 2006 at the age of forty by a construction worker in the building, after she complained about noise. Her killer tried to cover up his crime by hanging her from a shower rack in her bathroom, to make it look like suicide. He later confessed that he was having a “bad day.” Shelly, who left behind a baby daughter, had just completed her film Waitress, which she also starred in, and which was honored at Sundance after her death.

WINNER: Last Night in Soho
RUNNER-UP: Adrienne

JOSEPHINE BAKER AWARD – For best expressing the woman of colour experience in America

JOSEPHINE BAKER AWARD: The daughter of a laundress and a musician, Baker overcame being born black, female and poor, and marriage at age fifteen, to become an internationally acclaimed legendary performer, starring in the films Princess Tam Tam, Moulin Rouge and Zou Zou. She also survived the race riots in East St. Louis, Illinois as a child, and later expatriated to France to escape US racism. After participating heroically in the underground French Resistance during WWII, Baker returned to the US where she was a crusader for racial equality. Her activism led to attacks against her by reporter Walter Winchell who denounced her as a communist, leading her to wage a battle against him. Baker was instrumental in ending segregation in many theaters and clubs, where she refused to perform unless integration was implemented.

WINNER: Passing
RUNNER-UP: Respect, Bruised & Test Pattern

KAREN MORLEY AWARD – For best exemplifying a woman’s place in history or society, and a courageous search for identity

KAREN MORLEY AWARD: Karen Morley was a promising Hollywood star in the 1930s, in such films as Mata Hari and Our Daily Bread. She was driven out of Hollywood for her leftist political convictions by the Blacklist and for refusing to testify against other actors, while Robert Taylor and Sterling Hayden were informants against her. And also for daring to have a child and become a mother, unacceptable for female stars in those days. Morley maintained her militant political activism for the rest of her life, running for Lieutenant Governor on the American Labor Party ticket in 1954. She passed away in 2003, unrepentant to the end, at the age of 93.

WINNER: Passing
RUNNER-UP: Being the Ricardos, Benedetta & Spencer

ACTING AND ACTIVISM AWARD
Dolly Parton

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Betty White

WOMEN FILM CRITICS CIRCLE SPECIAL PAULINE KAEL JURY AWARDS 2021

BEST FEMALE ACTION HERO
Sandra Bullock, The Unforgivable
Sandra Oh, The Chair

COURAGE IN FILMMAKING
Julia Ducournau, Titane
Sian Heder, CODA

COURAGE IN ACTING [Taking on unconventional roles that radically redefine the images of women on screen]
Halle Berry, Bruised
Sandra Bullock, The Unforgivable

WOMEN’S WORK: BEST ENSEMBLE CAST
Kathryn Hunter as The Three Witches, The Tragedy Of Macbeth
King Richard

THE INVISIBLE WOMAN AWARD [Supporting performance by a woman whose exceptional impact on the film dramatically, socially or historically, has been ignored]
Danielle Deadwyler as Cathay Williams, The Harder They Fall
Rae Dawn Chong, The Sleeping Negro

WOMEN SAVING THEMSELVES AWARD
A Quiet Place Part II
Holler

BEST KEPT SECRET – Overlooked Challenging Gems
Mama Weed, Director Jean-Paul Salomé
Small Time, Directress Niav Conty

OUTSTANDING SERIES [Television or Streaming]
Lovecraft Country
The Handmaid’s Tale

MOMMIE DEAREST – WORST SCREEN MOM OF THE YEAR 
Olivia Colman, The Lost Daughter

 

The Women Film Critics Circle Honors Promising Young Woman

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Women Film Critics Circle Have announced their picks for the best of the year.  And here they are:

BEST MOVIE ABOUT WOMEN
WINNER: Promising Young Woman
Runner Up: Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Ammonite
Antebellum

BEST MOVIE BY A WOMAN
WINNER: Nomadland – Chloe Zhao
Runner Up: Promising Young Woman – Emerald Fennell
Never Rarely Sometimes Always – Eliza Hittman
One Night in Miami – Regina King

BEST WOMAN STORYTELLER (Screenwriting Award)
WINNER: Never Rarely Sometimes Always – Eliza Hittman
Runner Up: Promising Young Woman – Emerald Fennell
Nomadland – Chloe Zhao
The United States vs. Billie Holiday – Suzan-Lori Parks

BEST ACTRESS
WINNER: Carey Mulligan – Promising Young Woman
Runner Up (tie): Frances McDormand – Nomadland
Runner Up (tie): Vanessa Kirby – Pieces of a Woman
Andra Day – The United States vs. Billie Holiday

BEST ACTOR
WINNER: Chadwick Boseman – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Runner Up: Anthony Hopkins – The Father
Riz Ahmed – Sound of Metal
Tahar Rahim – The Mauritanian

BEST FOREIGN FILM BY OR ABOUT WOMEN
WINNER: La Llorona
Runner Up: True Mothers
The Truth (La Verite)
Two of Us (Deux)

BEST DOCUMENTARY BY OR ABOUT WOMEN
WINNER: Stuntwomen: The Untold Hollywood Story
Runner Up: Time
All In: The Fight For Democracy
I Am Greta

BEST EQUALITY OF THE SEXES
WINNER: Emma
Runner Up: I Care A Lot
Malcolm & Marie
Radioactive

BEST ANIMATED FEMALE
WINNER: Fei Fei – Over the Moon
Runner Up: Mebh Og MacTire – Wolfwalkers
Libba – Soul
Robyn Goodfellowe – Wolfwalkers

BEST SCREEN COUPLE
WINNER: Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan – Ammonite
Runner Up: Tom Hanks and Helena Zengel – News of the World
Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti – Palm Springs
Barbara Sukowa and Martine Chevallier – Two of Us (Deux)

ADRIENNE SHELLY AWARD – For a film that most passionately opposes violence against women
Adrienne Shelly was a promising actress and filmmaker who was brutally strangled in her apartment in 2006 at the age of forty by a construction worker in the building, after she complained about noise. Her killer tried to cover up his crime by hanging her from a shower20rack in her bathroom, to make it look like suicide. He later confessed that he was having a “bad day.” Shelly, who left behind a baby daughter, had just completed her film Waitress, which she also starred in, and which was honored at Sundance after her death.

WINNER: Promising Young Woman
Runner Up: The Invisible Man
I’m Your Woman
The Assistant

JOSEPHINE BAKER AWARD – For best expressing the woman of color experience in America
The daughter of a laundress and a musician, Baker overcame being born black, female and poor, and marriage at age fifteen, to become an internationally acclaimed legendary performer, starring in the films Princess Tam Tam, Moulin Rouge and Zou Zou. She also survived the race riots in East St. Louis, Illinois as a child, and later expatriated to France to escape US racism. After participating heroically in the underground French Resistance during WWII, Baker returned to the US where she was a crusader for racial equality. Her activism led to attacks against her by reporter Walter Winchell who denounced her as a communist, leading her to wage a battle against him. Baker was instrumental in ending segregation in many theaters and clubs, where she refused to perform unless integration was implemented.

WINNER: Miss Juneteenth
Runner Up: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Antebellum
The Forty-Year-Old Version

KAREN MORLEY AWARD – For best exemplifying a woman’s place in history or society, and a courageous search for identity
Karen Morley was a promising Hollywood star in the 1930s, in such films as Mata Hari and Our Daily Bread. She was driven out of Hollywood for her leftist political convictions by the Blacklist and for refusing to testify against other actors, while Robert Taylor and Sterling Hayden were informants against her. And also for daring to have a child and become a mother, unacceptable for female stars in those days. Morley maintained her militant political activism for the rest of her life, running for Lieutenant Governor on the American Labor Party ticket in 1954. She passed away in 2003, unrepentant to the end, at the age of 93.

WINNER: The United States vs. Billie Holiday
Runner Up: Shirley
Radium Girls
The Glorias

ACTING AND ACTIVISM AWARD
Regina King – The first celebrity to commit to the Time’s Up ‘4% Challenge’ which urges the industry to hire more women directors, the award winning actress has also pledged to have women make up fifty percent of the crews for her films.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Julie Andrews

**WFCC PAULINE KAEL SPECIAL JURY AWARDS 2020**

BEST FEMALE ACTION HERO
WINNER: Janelle Monae – Antebellum
Runner Up: Jodie Foster – The Mauritanian

COURAGE IN FILMMAKING
WINNER: Emerald Fennell – Promising Young Woman
Runner Up: Eliza Hittman – Never Rarely Sometimes Always

COURAGE IN ACTING  
Taking on unconventional roles that radically redefine the images of women on screen
WINNER: Janelle Monae – Antebellum
Runner Up: Elizabeth Moss – The Invisible Man

WOMEN’S WORK – BEST ENSEMBLE CAST  
WINNER: Radium Girls
Runner Up: The Glorias

THE INVISIBLE WOMAN AWARD 
Supporting performance by a woman whose exceptional impact on the film dramatically, socially or historically, has been ignored
WINNER: Cicely Tyson – A Fall From Grace
Runner Up: Dianne Wiest – I Care A Lot

BEST KEPT SECRET – Overlooked Challenging Gems
WINNER: Ammonite
Runner Up: Swallow

WOMEN SAVING THEMSELVES AWARD
WINNER: Claire Dunn – Herself
Runner Up: Elizabeth Moss – The Invisible Man

MOMMIE DEAREST WORST SCREEN MOM OF THE YEAR 
WINNER: Sarah Paulson – Run

HALL OF SHAME
Rudy Giuliani – For removing any doubt about the kind of creepy predator he is, in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. Of course there were no consequences for his behavior, even though it was captured on film and broadcast worldwide.
Dennis Harvey – in his Variety review for Promising Young Woman, stating Carey Mulligan is not ‘hot enough’ for the role. Not to mention perpetuating the lie that rape is about sex and not violence against women. And, why we need women film critics more than ever…
The Prom – for casting straight actors in queer roles in the most anticipated lesbian movie of the year, and making it seem like overcoming homophobia is as simple as singing a song.
Dallas Sonnier and Adam Donaghey – For sexual harassment and abuse at Cineaste Magazine, and the cover-up.​

The Women Film Critics Circle Honors Portrait of a Lady on Fire!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association weren’t the only ones making an announcement today!  The Women Film Critics Circle also announced their picks for the best of 2019!

And here they are:

BEST MOVIE ABOUT WOMEN

  • Portrait of a Lady on Fire (dir. Céline Sciamma)
    Runner-up: Little Women (dir. Greta Gerwig)

BEST MOVIE BY A WOMAN

  • Harriet (dir. Kasi Lemmons)
    Runner-up: Portrait of a Lady on Fire (dir. Céline Sciamma)

BEST WOMAN STORYTELLER (Screenwriting Award)

  • Greta Gerwig (Little Women)
    Runner-up: Céline Sciamma (Portrait of a Lady on Fire)

BEST ACTRESS

  • Tie: Cynthia Erivo (Harriet) and Lupita Nyong’o (US)
    Runner-up: Renée Zellweger (Judy)

BEST ACTOR

  • Adam Driver (Marriage Story)
    Runner-up: Joaquin Phoenix (Joker)

BEST FOREIGN FILM BY OR ABOUT WOMEN

  • Portrait of a Lady on Fire (dir. Céline Sciamma)
    Runner-up: Atlantics (dir. Mati Diop)

BEST DOCUMENTARY BY OR ABOUT WOMEN

  • Varda by Agnès (dir. Agnès Varda)
    Runner-ups: Maiden (dir. Alex Holmes) and Honeyland (dir. Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov)

BEST EQUALITY OF THE SEXES

  • Marriage Story
    Runner-up: The Aeronauts

BEST ANIMATED FEMALE

  • Anna (Frozen 2)
    Runner-up: Bo Peep (Toy Story 4)

BEST SCREEN COUPLE

  • (TIE) Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Noémie Merlant/Adèle Haenel) and Marriage Story (Scarlett Johansson/Adam Driver)
    Runner-up: Hustlers (Jennifer Lopez/Constance Wu)

ADRIENNE SHELLY AWARD – For a film that most passionately opposes violence against women

  • (TIE) Bombshell (dir. Jay Roach) and The Nightingale (dir. Jennifer Kent)
    Runner-up: Hustlers (dir. Lorene Scafaria)

JOSEPHINE BAKER AWARD – For best expressing the woman of color experience in America

  • Harriet (dir. Kasi Lemmons)
    Runner-up: Queen & Slim (dir. Melina Matsoukas)

KAREN MORLEY AWARD – For best exemplifying a woman’s place in history or society, and a courageous search for identity

  • Harriet (dir. Kasi Lemmons)
    Runner-up: Little Women (dir. Greta Gerwig)

ACTING AND ACTIVISM AWARD
Jane Fonda

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Alfre Woodard

Here Are The 2018 Women Film Critics Circle Nominations!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

BEST MOVIE ABOUT WOMEN
Mary Shelley
Roma
The Favourite
Widows

BEST MOVIE BY A WOMAN
Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Leave No Trace
The Kindergarten Teacher
You Were Never Really Here

BEST WOMAN STORYTELLER [Screenwriting Award]

Sara Colangelo: The Kindergarten Teacher
Debra Granik: Leave No Trace
Tamara Jenkins: Private Life
Audrey Wells: The Hate U Give

BEST ACTRESS
Toni Collette, Hereditary
Olivia Colman, The Favourite
Viola Davis, Widows
Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Kindergarten Teacher

BEST ACTOR
Ben Foster, Leave No Trace
Ethan Hawke, First Reformed
Viggo Mortensen, Green Book
Hugo Weaving, Black 47

BEST COMEDIC ACTRESS
Helena Bonham Carter, 55 Steps
Olivia Colman, The Favourite
Kathryn Hahn, Private Life
Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me?

BEST YOUNG ACTRESS
Elle Fanning, Mary Shelley
Elsie Fisher, Eighth Grade
Thomasin McKenzie, Leave No Trace
Amandla Stenberg, The Hate U Give

BEST FOREIGN FILM BY OR ABOUT WOMEN
Capernaum
Happy As Lazzaro
Roma
Zama

BEST DOCUMENTARY BY OR ABOUT WOMEN
RBG
Say Her Name: The Life And Death Of Sandra Bland
Seeing Allred
Shirkers

WOMEN’S WORK/BEST ENSEMBLE
55 Steps
Ocean’s Eight
The Favourite
Widows

SPECIAL MENTION AWARDS

COURAGE IN FILMMAKING
Haifaa Al-Mansour, Mary Shelley
Sara Colangelo, The Kindergarten Teacher
Sandra Luckow, That Way Madness Lies
Jennifer Fox, The Tale

COURAGE IN ACTING [Taking on unconventional roles that radically redefine the images of women on screen]Helena Bonham Carter: 55 Steps
Viola Davis: Widows
Nicole Kidman: Destroyer
Melissa McCarthy: Can You Ever Forgive Me?

ADRIENNE SHELLY AWARD: For a film that most passionately opposes violence against women
Call Her Ganda
I Am Not A Witch
On Her Shoulders
Say Her Name: The Life And Death Of Sandra Bland

JOSEPHINE BAKER AWARD: For best expressing the woman of color experience in America
If Beale Street Could Talk
Life And Nothing More
The Hate U Give
Widows

KAREN MORLEY AWARD: For best exemplifying a woman’s place in history or society, and a courageous search for identity
93 Queen
On The Basis Of Sex
Roma
Woman Walks Ahead

THE INVISIBLE WOMAN AWARD: [Performance by a woman whose exceptional impact on the film dramatically, socially or historically, has been ignored]

Yalitza Aparicio, Roma
Glenn Close, The Wife
Andrea Riseborough, Nancy
The Women Of Widows

BEST SCREEN COUPLE
A Star Is Born
Crazy Rich Asians
Disobedience
If Beale Street Could Talk

BEST FEMALE ACTION HEROES
Adrift
55 Steps
Black Panther
RBG

MOMMIE DEAREST WORST SCREEN MOM OF THE YEAR AWARD
Krista Allen, Party Mom
Toni Collette, Hereditary
Nicole Kidman, Destroyer
Jacki Weaver, Widows

BEST EQUALITY OF THE SEXES
Black Panther
Like Me
On The Basis Of Sex
Widows

BEST ANIMATED FEMALES
Incredibles 2
Liyana
Mary And The Witch’s Flower
Mirai No Mirai

BEST FAMILY FILM
Eighth Grade
Incredibles 2
Science Fair
The Hate U Give

WFCC HALL OF SHAME
Bryan Singer

Here Are The Nominees From The Women Film Critics Circle!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Women Film Critics Circle has announced their nominations for the best of 2017!  The winners will be named next week!

BEST MOVIE ABOUT WOMEN

BEST MOVIE BY A WOMAN

  • “Detroit”
  • “First They Killed My Father”
  • “Lady Bird”
  • “Mudbound”

BEST WOMAN STORYTELLER [Screenwriting Award]

  • Greta Gerwig, “Lady Bird”
  • Maggie Greenwald, “Sophie And The Rising Sun”
  • Dee Rees, “Mudbound”
  • Angela Workman, “The Zookeeper’s Wife”

BEST ACTRESS

  • Sally Hawkins, “Maudie”
  • Sally Hawkins, “The Shape Of Water”
  • Frances McDormand, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
  • Cynthia Nixon, “A Quiet Passion”

BEST ACTOR

  • Timothée Chalamet, “Call Me By Your Name”
  • Daniel Kaluuya, “Get Out”
  • Gary Oldman, “Darkest Hour”
  • Denzel Washington, “Roman J. Israel, Esq.”

BEST YOUNG ACTRESS (Under 21)

  • Seo-Hyun Ahn, “Okja”
  • Mckenna Grace, “Gifted”
  • Brooklynn Prince, “The Florida Project”
  • Millicent Simmonds, “Wonderstruck”

BEST COMEDIC ACTRESS

  • Tiffany Haddish, “Girls Trip”
  • Allison Janney, “I, Tonya”
  • Margo Robbie, “I, Tonya”
  • Saoirse Ronan, “Lady Bird”

BEST FOREIGN FILM BY OR ABOUT WOMEN

  • “A Fantastic Woman”
  • “First They Killed My Father”
  • “In The Fade”
  • “Thelma”

*ADRIENNE SHELLY AWARD: For a film that most passionately opposes violence against women:

  • “Maudie”
  • “The Light Of The Moon”
  • “The Rape Of Recy Taylor”
  • “Wind River”

*JOSEPHINE BAKER AWARD: For best expressing the woman of color experience in America

  • “Girls Trip”
  • “Mudbound”
  • “Step”
  • “The Rape Of Recy Taylor”

*KAREN MORLEY AWARD: For best exemplifying a woman’s place in history or society, and a courageous search for identity

  • “Battle Of The Sexes”
  • “Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story”
  • “Mudbound”
  • “The Post”

COURAGE IN ACTING [Taking on unconventional roles that radically redefine the images of women on screen]

  • Sally Hawkins, “Maudie”
  • Frances McDormand, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
  • Michelle Rodriguez, “The Assignment”
  • Charlize Theron, “Atomic Blonde”

COURAGE IN FILMMAKING

  • Amma Asante, “A United Kingdom”
  • Kathryn Bigelow, “Detroit”
  • Angelina Jolie, “First The Killed My Father”
  • Dee Rees, “Mudbound”

THE INVISIBLE WOMAN AWARD [Supporting performance by a woman whose exceptional impact on the film dramatically, socially or historically, has been ignored]

BEST DOCUMENTARY BY OR ABOUT WOMEN

  • “Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story”
  • “Faces Places”
  • “Jane”
  • “Step”

WOMEN’S WORK: BEST ENSEMBLE

BEST FEMALE ACTION HERO

  • “Atomic Blonde”
  • “In The Fade”
  • “The Shape of Water”
  • “Wonder Woman”

BEST EQUALITY OF THE SEXES

  • “Atomic Blonde”
  • “Battle Of The Sexes”
  • “Professor Marston And The Wonder Women”
  • “Wonder Woman”

BEST SCREEN COUPLE

BEST ANIMATED FEMALE(S)

  • “Coco”
  • “Loving Vincent”
  • “The Breadwinner”
  • “Window Horses: The Poetic Persian Epiphany of Rosie Ming”

BEST FAMILY FILM

The Women Film Critic Circle Honors Hidden Figures And Ghostbusters!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

ghostbusters-2016-cast-proton-packs-images

The Women Film Critics Circle has announced their picks for both the best and the worst of 2016! And here they are:

BEST MOVIE ABOUT WOMEN
Hidden Figures
BEST MOVIE BY A WOMAN
13TH
BEST WOMAN STORYTELLER [Screenwriting Award]
13TH, Ava DuVernay
BEST ACTRESS
Natalie Portman, Jackie
BEST ACTOR
Casey Affleck, Manchester By The Sea
BEST YOUNG ACTRESS
Hailee Steinfeld, The Edge Of Seventeen
BEST COMEDIC ACTRESS
Kate McKinnon, Ghostbusters
BEST FOREIGN FILM BY OR ABOUT WOMEN
The Handmaiden
BEST DOCUMENTARY BY OR ABOUT WOMEN
13TH
BEST FEMALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE
Hidden Figures
WORST FEMALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE
Neighbors 2
BEST MALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE
Loving
WORST MALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE
Dirty Grandpa
WOMEN’S WORK/BEST ENSEMBLE
Hidden Figures
SPECIAL MENTION AWARDS COURAGE IN FILMMAKING
Ava DuVernay, 13TH
COURAGE IN ACTING [Taking on unconventional roles that radically redefine the images of women on screen]
Rebecca Hall, Christine
*ADRIENNE SHELLY AWARD: For a film that most passionately opposes violence against women
American Honey
*JOSEPHINE BAKER AWARD: For best expressing the woman of color experience in America
Hidden Figures
*KAREN MORLEY AWARD: For best exemplifying a woman’s place in history or society, and a courageous search for identity
Hidden Figures
*THE INVISIBLE WOMAN AWARD: [Performance by a woman whose exceptional impact on the film dramatically, socially or historically, has been ignored]
The women of Hidden Figures
BEST SCREEN COUPLE
Loving
BEST FEMALE ACTION HERO
The women of Ghostbusters

Remember Suffragette? The Women’s Film Critics Circle Certainly Does!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Women’s Film Critics Circle have announced their picks for the best of 2015.  After starting out as one of those films that everyone expected to be a major contender, Suffragette has faded somewhat as an awards contender.  However, regardless of what the Academy may or may not do, Suffragette has been embraced by the Women’s Film Critics Circle.

Check out the winners below.  Also, check out all the categories!  Why can’t the Oscars be this much fun?

Best Actor
Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl)

Best Actress
Carey Mulligan (Suffragette)

Best Movie about Women
Suffragette

Best Movie by a Woman
Suffragette

Best Young Actress
Brie Larson (Room)

Best Comedic Actress
Amy Schumer (Trainwreck)

Best Woman Storyteller (Screenwriting Award)
Phyllis Nagy (Carol)

Women’s Work / Best Ensemble
Suffragette

Best Foreign Film by or about Women
The Second Mother

Best Theatrically Unreleased Movie by or about Women
Bessie

Best Female Images in a Movie
Suffragette

Best Male Images in a Movie
Bridge of Spies

Worst Female Images in a Movie
Jurassic World

Worst Male Images in a Movie
Steve Jobs

Best Family Film
Inside Out

Best Documentary by or about Women
Amy

Best Female Action Hero
Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Best Animated Female
Amy Poehler (Inside Out)

Best Screen Couple
Tom Courtenay and Charlotte Rampling (45 Years)
Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay (Room)

Best Equality of the Sexes
Mad Max: Fury Road

Courage in Filmmaking
Sarah Gavron (Suffragette)

Courage in Acting (taking on unconventional roles that radically redefine the images of women on screen)
Brie Larson (Room)

Acting and Activism Award
Olivia Wilde

The Invisible Woman Award (performance by a woman whose exceptional impact on the film dramatically, socially or historically, has been ignored)
Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl)

Adrienne Shelly Award (for a film that most passionately opposes violence against women)
He Named Me Malala

Josephine Baker Award (for best expressing the woman of colour experience in America)
What Happened, Miss Simone?

Karen Morley Award (for best exemplifying a woman’s place in history or society, and a courageous search for identity)
Suffragette

Lifetime Achievement Award
Lily Tomlin

Mommie Dearest Worst Screen Mom of the Year Award
Cate Blanchett (Cinderella)

The Worst Female Images In A Movie

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Did you know that there’s a group known as The Women Film Critics Circle and, much like the DFW Film Critics, I am not a member despite being 1) a woman, 2) a film critic, and 3) a feminist?  I swear, I am feeling so rejected right about now…

Then again, looking over their 2010 movie awards, I’m not sure I would want to be a member.  Check out their selections and then see if you can guess which one has got me all annoyed and profane.

BEST MOVIE ABOUT WOMEN
Mother And Child

BEST MOVIE BY A WOMAN
Winter’s Bone

BEST WOMAN STORYTELLER [Screenwriting Award]
The Kids Are All Right: Lisa Cholodenko

BEST ACTRESS
Annette Bening/The Kids Are All Right

BEST ACTOR
Colin Firth/The King’s Speech

BEST YOUNG ACTRESS
Jennifer Lawrence/Winter’s Bone

BEST COMEDIC ACTRESS
Annette Bening/The Kids Are All Right
BEST FOREIGN FILM BY OR ABOUT WOMEN: *TIE*
Mother
Women Without Men

BEST FEMALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE
Conviction

WORST FEMALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE
Black Swan

BEST MALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE: *TIE*
Another Year
The King’s Speech

WORST MALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE
Jackass 3D

BEST THEATRICALLY UNRELEASED MOVIE BY OR ABOUT WOMEN
Temple Grandin

BEST EQUALITY OF THE SEXES: *TIE
Another Year
Fair Game

BEST ANIMATED FEMALES
Despicable Me

BEST FAMILY FILM
Toy Story 3

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Helen Mirren

ACTING AND ACTIVISM
Lena Horne [posthumous]

*ADRIENNE SHELLY AWARD: For a film that most passionately opposes violence against women:
Winter’s Bone

*JOSEPHINE BAKER AWARD: For best expressing the woman of color experience in America
For Colored Girls

*KAREN MORLEY AWARD: For best exemplifying a woman’s place in history or society, and a courageous search for identity
Fair Game

COURAGE IN ACTING [Taking on unconventional roles that radically redefine the images of women on screen]
Helen Mirren/The Tempest

THE INVISIBLE WOMAN AWARD [Performance by a woman whose exceptional impact on the film dramatically, socially or historically, has been ignored]
Q’Orianka Kilcher/Princess Kaiulani

BEST DOCUMENTARY BY A WOMAN
A Film Unfinished

WOMEN’S WORK: BEST ENSEMBLE
Mother And Child

BEST SCREEN COUPLE
Another Year: Jim Broadbent/Ruth Sheen as Tom and Gerri

Did you catch it?  Yes, that’s right.  With all of the demeaning, insulting, sexist crap that both the mainstream and the independent film industries have released this year, Black Swan wins the award for “Worst Female Images In A Film.”

Uhmm, really?

Yes, Natalie Portman dealing with a society that forces an unrealistic expectation of perfection on young women — this is a far more negative image than every female  character in The Social Network turning out to either be a bitch, a whore, or an idiot.  Natalie Portman suffering from bulimia because she knows the consequences if she doesn’t maintain the right body type — this is a far more insulting image than Anne Hathaway being charmed by Jack Gyllenhaal pretending to be a doctor while leering at her exposed breast in Love and Other Drugs.  This was the year that Rebecca Hall fell in love with a man who kidnapped her in The Town while The Killer Inside Me lingered lovingly on scenes of Casey Affleck beating both Jessica Alba and Kate Hudson to death.  But no, out of all this, Black Swan featured the worst images of women on screen.

What utter and total bullshit.

I am a feminist and I am proud to be fiercely pro-woman (though never blindly anti-male).  I have always been very aware of the fact that, regardless of intent, most movies are basically sexist fantasies.  And, like a lot of women, I’ve come to accept that as the price I pay for loving movies.  It’s something that I’m more likely to laugh at than to get outraged over.  But that doesn’t mean that I don’t sometimes get tired of it, that I don’t sometimes wish that just for once, I could see a movie where the female lead didn’t need to be rescued by a man or where she wasn’t expected to epitomize some sort of stereotype.

To be honest, male filmmakers are not solely to blame.  Some of the most demeaning images of women have come from films that were directed by women and which were advertised as being “feminist” films.  Sometimes it seems like movies are either so busy trying to either keep women down or to build women up that they forget that most of us just want to be seen as human beings.

So no, Natalie Portman is not some sort of “feminist ideal” in Black Swan.  She cuts herself, she’s bulimic, she fears her own sexual desires, she’s too hard on herself, and she’s manipulated by the men around her.  And you know what?  That’s not a sexist fantasy.  For far too many women, present and past, that’s the life that has been forced upon them by an inherently sexist society.  If anything, that’s the type of life that feminism was supposed to provide an escape from. 

Instead, the stridency and judgmental attitudes of far too many so-called “feminists” has simply turned into another way to trap us into that life of guilt and shame and idealized demands of perfection.

The female images in Black Swan are not negative.  They’re honest and that’s why Black Swan meant more to me, as a woman, than every single self-conscious, strident “feminist” film ever made. 

As for the worst female image in a movie — give that award to Eat Pray Love for being yet another movie that basically gives us a spoiled, immature, rich, elitist lead character and then insults women everywhere by trying to present her as some sort of practical model for liberation. 

Julia Roberts traveling across the world without once waking up with dark circles under her eyes might be the ideal but Natalie Portman being leered at by an old pervert on the subway is the reality.

For once, this has been a good year for strong women on American film screens.  Whether it was Noomi Rapace as The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo or Jennifer Lawrence in Winter’s Bone, Katie Jarvis in Fish Tank, or even Angelina Jolie as Salt, this has been a year of strong female images.  This has been a year of films that left me feeling empowered — not in the wishy-washy way that so many insultingly condescending films claim to empower but in an honest way that made me feel, for once, that I didn’t have to accept the idea of any limitations on my own dreams or desires. 

It wasn’t just a good year to be a girl who loves movies.  It was a great year.

And Black Swan was the best part of a great year.

(You can read my original review of Black Swan here.)