Lauding Strong Women
Hollywood has long been justly criticized for overlooking strong stories with strong females at their center. But, judging from the nominees, the industry’s been moving in the right direction.
Of the nine Best Picture nominees, four unquestionably have strong women at their core: As Mildred Hayes, Frances McDormand anchors Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, with a palpable, poignant rage. Meryl Streep’s Kay Graham is the publisher of The Post, and it’s her decision—whether to publish explosive government secrets or not—that propels this gripping docudrama forward. In Lady Bird, Saoirse Ronan’s titular character dominates the film with warmth and humor. And Sally Hawkins, as the mute cleaning woman Elisa in The Shape of Water, gives the movie its warmth, grace and power without ever saying a word. All four of these women, naturally, were nominated for Best Actress honors (joined by Margot Robbie for her work in I, Tonya).
And personally, I think that this quartet of women-driven Best Picture nominees could be joined by a fifth: In the film, dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock (Oscar nominee Daniel Day-Lewis) tangles with two strong women—his lover and muse Alma (Vicky Krieps) and his tough-as-nails sister Cyril (Oscar nominee Lesley Manville).
Still, I think the Academy missed an opportunity to laud a couple of other female-driven films that were among my favorites: Wonder Woman, of course, and the little-seen but puckishly poignant The Florida Project. While all the Best Actress nominees gave truly worthy performances this year, I don’t know if I’ve seen anyone who did better than Project’s 7-year-old centerpiece, Brooklynn Prince
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