FemResThe Living Review

Media index

Legal EqualityFilms

08
items
01

Films · Mar 2024

Laapataa Ladies

Kiran Rao

Through the absurd comedy of two brides swapped on a train due to identical veils, this film exposes how rural Indian patriarchy employs the 'erasure of the face' to systematically invisibilize female identity.

02

Films · Aug 2023

Anatomy of a Fall

Anatomie d'une chuteJustine Triet

A gripping courtroom drama dissecting a marriage, truth, and gender roles through the trial of a woman accused of her husband's murder. Winner of the Palme d'Or.

03

Films · Mar 2020

Never Rarely Sometimes Always

Eliza Hittman

In the wake of Roe v. Wade being overturned by the Supreme Court, Eliza Hittman's Never Rarely Sometimes Always is necessary viewing. A tiny independent film that topped critics' best-of lists, it's about a pair of friends who are forced to travel from their small Pennsylvania town to New York City in search of medical aid for an unwanted pregnancy.

04

Films · Apr 2016

Confirmation

Rick Famuyiwa

This HBO television movie stars Kerry Washington as Anita Hill, a law professor whose story of sexual harassment is worth revisiting through a post-#MeToo lens. This film dives into one of recent American history's watershed moments, chronicling the testimony given before the nation regarding the sexual harassment of women in the workplace.

05

Films · Sep 2013

Belle

Amma Asante

Based on the true story of 18th-century historical figure Dido Elizabeth Belle, this costume drama follows a mixed-race aristocratic woman navigating her place in British high society while fighting for justice amid intersecting racism and sexism. The film explores complex themes of race, class, gender intersectionality, and female agency.

06

Films · Feb 2004

Iron Jawed Angels

Katja von Garnier

Katja von Garnier made this Golden Globe winner, about the women who risked their lives for the suffrage movement. It stars Hilary Swank, Anjelica Huston, and Vera Farmiga.

07

Films · Jul 2001

Legally Blonde

Robert Luketic

A groundbreaking comedy film where Reese Witherspoon's Elle Woods challenges stereotypes about blonde women. This 2001 film deeply explores female intelligence, workplace discrimination, and multiple facets of feminism through the story of a fashion-conscious girl entering Harvard Law School.

08

Films · Mar 2000

Erin Brockovich

Steven Soderbergh

Based on true events, this film tells the story of single mother Erin Brockovich who, through tenacious will and relentless effort, exposed corporate environmental pollution scandals and fought for justice for victims. The film demonstrates how ordinary women can display extraordinary strength in adversity.