For those of you who are gearing up for awards season or are planning to celebrate Halloween at the movies, we at Women and Hollywood would just like to say you will not be disappointed: October’s selection of women-centric and women-created films embrace tension, suspense, and thrills by focusing on the real and imagined horrors of everyday life.
“The Girl on the Train,” written by Erin Cressida Wilson, opens on October 7. Like the best thrillers, the movie takes a fairly simple premise — a woman’s grief after her divorce — and uses it to explore complex ideas like obsession, our culture’s unhealthy interest in true crime, and how difficult it is to trust ourselves, let alone the people around us.
Also opening on October 7 are “13th” and “Newtown,” both of which are terrifying because they reflect reality. Ava DuVernay’s “13th” delves into the racial, systemic, and institutional horrors of the United States’ prison system. “Newtown” explores the aftermath of the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Director Kim A. Snyder’s documentary follows the victims’ families and loved ones, as well as Newtown community members, and attempts to bring up important questions surrounding these tragic events: Why won’t our lawmakers take the necessary steps to create smart gun laws? Where is the national outrage? How can the people of Newtown ever find peace if no change occurred after the meaningless violence against children?
On October 14, we’ll get the chance to see “Certain Women,” “Christine,” and the documentary “Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise.” “Certain Women” is another collaboration between writer-director Kelly Reichardt and Michelle Williams. Kristen Stewart, Laura Dern, and newcomer Lily Gladstone also star in this film about the day-to-day, intersecting lives and struggles of women and their attempts to push back against societal expectations.
“Christine” is based on the true story of TV reporter Christine Chubbuck and her disturbing on-air suicide. While we can never know exactly what was going on in her head, the movie allows us to empathize with Christine as she deals with professional frustrations, mental health issues, and loneliness.
“Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise” is from co-director Rita Coburn Whack and documents the incredible life of one of America’s most prominent writers and activists. This biographical documentary examines how Angelou withstood widespread racism, sexism, and injustice throughout her life and, instead of succumbing to the hatred, used her experiences to inform her actions in the Civil Rights Movement and in her writing.
Towards the end of October, we’ll see the release of “The Handmaiden,” a sexy, tense crime drama and thriller. Using Sarah Waters’ “Fingersmith” as its source material, the filmmakers — including screenwriter Seo-Kyung Chung — present a Korean handmaid’s feigned (or is it?) affection for her Japanese employer, Lady Hideko. Out October 21, the duplicitous romance between these two women — one born into boring, isolating privilege, the other a street-smart conwoman — is a microcosm of the class and nationalist conflicts surrounding Japan’s colonization of Korea.
The last weekend of October features the release of “The Eagle Huntress,” a documentary narrated by “The Force Awakens’” Daisy Ridley. Out October 28, “The Eagle Huntress” follows Aisholpan, a Kazakh teenager who is following her dream of becoming her family’s first female eagle hunter in 12 generations.
Unsurprisingly, Halloween weekend will also feature multiple women-centric horror movie premieres including “I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House,” the franchise sequel “Rings,” and “The Windmill”.
Without further ado, here is Women and Hollywood’s comprehensive preview of October’s women-centric, directed, and written films. All descriptions are from press materials, unless stated otherwise.
October 7
“The Girl on the Train” — Written by Erin Cressida Wilson
Rachel (Emily Blunt), devastated by her recent divorce, spends her daily commute fantasizing about the seemingly perfect couple (Haley Bennett and Luke Evans) who live in a house that her train passes every day. That is until sees something shocking happen there one morning and becomes entangled in the mystery that unfolds. “The Girl on the Train” is based on Paula Hawkins’ bestselling novel.
“13th” (Documentary) — Directed by Ava DuVernay (Also Available on Netflix)
Director Ava DuVernay takes an in-depth look at the prison system in the United States and how it reveals the nation’s history of racial inequality. The documentary features analysis from scholars, activists, and politicians of the criminalization of African Americans and the US prison boom.
“37” — Written and Directed by Puk Grasten (Also Available on VOD)
“37” is inspired by a true story set in New York, 1964, where several neighbors witness the brutal murder and rape of Kitty Genovese and do not intervene. The film peeks into the lives of three disparate families, the lonely neighbor, and the doorman. The audience will understand their decisions not to act by understanding their day-to-day struggles.
“All in Time” — Co-Written and Co-Directed by Marina Donahue (Opens in NY and LA) (Also Available on VOD)
Charlie (Sean Modica) leaves a good job to follow his dream of managing his favorite hometown rock band. Believing the band will be famous in the future, he hatches a plan to throw a unique rock concert. His only problem is the band’s guitarist, who doesn’t share Charlie’s optimism. The guitarist’s attitude derails Charlie’s best efforts to bring the band success and sends Charlie spiraling into an emotional, financial, and romantic tailspin. With the help of his elderly neighbor and a young intern, Charlie tries to get the band — and his life — back on track before it’s too late.
“Being 17” — Co-Written by Céline Sciamma (Opens in NY)
Unfolding over four seasons in the arresting, mountainous setting of the French Pyrénées, “Being 17” is the story of Damien (Kacey Mottet Klein) and Thomas (Corentin Fila), two French teenagers from very different upbringings who go to the same high school but are constantly fighting. When family circumstances inspire Damien’s mother, Marianne (Sandrine Kiberlain), to invite Thomas to live with them, the young men are forced to coexist and work through their emerging and complicated desires.
“Friend Request”
Laura (Alycia Debnam-Carey), a popular college girl, is very active on social media and shares almost everything in her life with her 800+ friends on Facebook. However, after accepting a friend request from an unknown girl named Marina, Laura becomes obsessed with Marina’s profile and her friends begin to die violently.
“The Great Gilly Hopkins”
A feisty foster kid’s outrageous scheme to be reunited with her birth mother has unintended consequences in “The Great Gilly Hopkins.” Gilly Hopkins (Sophie Nélisse) has seen more than her share of foster homes and has outwitted every family she has lived with. In an effort to escape her new foster mother, Mamie Trotter’s (Kathy Bates), endless loving care, Gilly concocts a plan that she believes will bring her mother running to her rescue. When the ploy blows up in Gilly’s face, it threatens to ruin the only chance she’s ever had to be part of a real family.
“Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life” — Co-Written by Kara Holden
Imaginative, quiet teenager Rafe Katchadorian (Griffin Gluck) is tired of his middle school’s obsession with the rules at the expense of any and all creativity. Desperate to shake things up, Rafe and his best friends have come up with a plan: break every single rule in the school and let the students run wild.
“Newtown” (Documentary) — Directed by Kim A. Snyder (Opens in NY; Opens in LA October 14)
There are no easy answers in “Newtown” — no words of compassion or reassurance that can bring back the 20 children and six educators who lost their lives during the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Instead, we get a glimpse into the lives and homes of those who lost loved ones, and others in the community who have been indelibly changed by the events. Each person, be it a parent, school nurse, or state police officer, tries in their own way to make sense of their loss, as well as confront our nation’s inability to quell gun violence in even the most peaceful of communities. “Newtown” bears witness to their profound grief and allows it to reverberate within our collective conscience — exploring what happens to a community after it becomes the epicenter of a national discussion, and what it is left to cope with after the cameras leave.
“The Red Pill” (Documentary) — Directed by Cassie Jaye (Opens in NY; Opens in LA October 14)
When feminist filmmaker Cassie Jaye sets out to document the mysterious and polarizing world of the Men’s Rights Movement, she begins to question her own beliefs. Jaye had only heard about the Men’s Rights Movement as being a misogynist hate-group aiming to turn back the clock on women’s rights, but when she spends a year filming its leaders and followers, she learns the various ways men are disadvantaged and discriminated against. “The Red Pill” challenges the audience to pull back the veil, question societal norms, and expose themselves to an alternate perspective on gender equality, power, and privilege.
“Under the Shadow” (Also Available on VOD)
Shideh (Narges Rashidi) and her family live amid the chaos of the Iran-Iraq war, a period known as The War of the Cities. Accused of subversion by the post-Revolution government and blacklisted from medical college, she falls into a state of malaise. Her husband (Bobby Naderi) is drafted and sent to the front lines, leaving Shideh all alone to protect their young daughter, Dorsa (Avin Manshadi). Soon after he leaves, a missile hits their apartment building and, while failing to explode, a neighbor dies under mysterious circumstances and Dorsa’s behavior becomes increasingly erratic. Searching for answers, Shideh learns from a superstitious neighbor that the cursed missile might have brought with it Djinn — malevolent Middle Eastern spirits that travel through the wind. Convinced that a supernatural force within the building is attempting to possess Dorsa, Shideh has no choice but to confront it if she is to save her daughter and herself.
October 14
“Certain Women” — Written and Directed by Kelly Reichardt
Kelly Reichardt directs an ensemble cast led by Michelle Williams, Kristen Stewart, and Laura Dern in this stirring look at three women striving to forge their own paths amidst the wide-open plains of the American Northwest: a lawyer (Dern) who finds herself contending with both office sexism and a hostage situation; a wife and mother (Williams) whose determination to build her dream home puts her at odds with the men in her life; and a young law student (Stewart) who forms an ambiguous bond with a lonely ranch hand (newcomer Lily Gladstone). As their stories intersect in subtle but powerful ways, a portrait emerges of flawed but strong-willed individuals in the process of defining themselves.
“Aquarius”
Clara (Sônia Braga), a 65-year-old widow and retired music critic, is the last resident of the Aquarius, one of the few buildings of its age and character that remains in the rapidly changing seaside Recife neighborhood. Now that the other apartments have been swept up by a company with ambitious plans for redevelopment, pressures to move on surround Clara from all sides. But she has pledged to leave only upon death, and will engage in a cold war with the developers to keep a home that has been a silent witness to her entire life. The resulting confrontation is mysterious, frightening, and nerve-wracking, tingeing even Clara’s most familiar routines with the tension of a thriller. But it is her passion for those close to her, for music, for her memories of past loves, and hunger for future ones, that makes the film a tremendous kaleidoscope of life’s pleasures and our reasons for defending them.
“Christine”
Rebecca Hall stars in “Christine,” the story of a woman who finds herself caught in the crosshairs of a spiraling personal life and career crisis. Christine, always the smartest person in the room at her local Sarasota, Florida news station, feels like she is destined for bigger things and is relentless in her pursuit of an on-air position in a larger market. As an aspiring newswoman with an eye for nuance and an interest in social justice, she finds herself constantly butting heads with her boss (Tracy Letts), who pushes for juicier stories that will drive up ratings. Plagued by self-doubt and a tumultuous home life, Christine’s diminishing hope begins to rise when an on-air co-worker (Michael C. Hall) initiates a friendship which ultimately becomes another unrequited love. Disillusioned as her world continues to close in on her, Christine takes a dark and surprising turn.
“Little Sister” (Opens in NY; Opens in LA October 28) (Also Available on VOD)
October, 2008. Young nun Colleen (Addison Timlin) is avoiding all contact from her family, until an email from her mother announces, “Your brother is home.” On returning to her childhood home in Asheville, North Carolina, she finds her old room exactly how she left it: painted black and covered in goth/metal posters. Her parents are happy enough to see her, but unease and awkwardness abound. Her brother is living as a recluse in the guesthouse since returning home from Iraq. During Colleen’s visit, tensions rise and fall with a little help from Halloween, pot cupcakes, and GWAR. “Little Sister” is a schmaltz-free, pathos-drenched, feel good movie for the little goth girl inside us all.
“The Handmaiden” — Co-Written by Seo-Kyung Chung
“The Handmaiden” is a ravishing crime drama inspired by the novel “Fingersmith” by Sarah Waters. Having transposed the story to 1930s-era colonial Korea and Japan, the film presents a gripping and sensual tale of a young Japanese Lady (Min-hee Kim) living on a secluded estate, and a Korean woman, Sookee (Tae-ri Kim), who is hired as Lady Hideko’s new handmaiden. But Sookee is also secretly involved in a conman’s (Ha Jung-woo) plot to defraud Lady Hideko of her large inheritance.
“Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise” (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Rita Coburn Whack (Opens in NY, LA, and San Francisco)
This intimate and personal portrait of Dr. Maya Angelou’s life is a touching and moving tribute to her legacy. Dr. Angelou has become a global symbol of peace, humility, and freedom — but parts of her story are not well known. Events of history, culture, and the arts shaped Dr. Angelou’s life and how she, in turn, helped shape our own worldview through her autobiographical literature and activism. “Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise” celebrates Dr. Angelou by weaving her words with rare and intimate archival photographs and videos, which paint hidden moments of her exuberant life during some of America’s most defining civil rights moments.
“Miss Hokusai” — Written by Miho Maruo (Opens in NY and LA)
As all of Edo flocks to see the work of the famous painter Hokusai (Yutaka Matsushige), his daughter O-Ei (Anne Watanabe) toils diligently inside his studio, unknown to the public. Her masterful portraits, dragons, and erotic sketches — sold under her father’s name — are coveted by upper crust Lords and journeyman printmakers alike. Despite her talent and fiercely independent spirit, O-Ei struggles under the domineering influence of her father and is ridiculed for lacking the life experience that she is attempting to portray in her art. “Miss Hokusai’s” lively Edo (present-day Tokyo) is filled with yokai spirits, dragons, and conniving tradesmen, while O-Ei’s relationships with her famously impetuous father and blind younger sister provide a powerful emotional underpinning to this rollicking and sumptuously-animated feminist coming-of-age tale.
October 18
“First Girl I Loved” (Also Available on VOD)
On assignment for her high school yearbook, social misfit Anne (Dylan Gelula) charmingly hits it off with the beautiful star of the softball team, Sasha (Brianna Hildebrand). But when Anne tells her best friend, Clifton (Mateo Arias), about her new crush, he reveals a hidden jealousy that threatens more than just the girls’ budding romance.
“Jacqueline Argentine”
A filmmaker (Wyatt Cenac) introduces us to the subject of his documentary — Jacqueline Dumont (Camille Rutherford), a young Frenchwoman who claims to have uncovered a covert assassination conspiracy. While unsure of the eccentric Jacqueline’s veracity, the filmmaker nonetheless enlists a couple of interns to travel to the holistic retreat in Argentina where she’s hiding out to explore her claims and film her story. (Sundance Film Festival)
October 21
“Boo! A Madea Halloween”
In Tyler Perry’s “Boo! A Madea Halloween,” Madea winds up in the middle of mayhem when she spends a hilarious, haunted Halloween fending off killers, paranormal poltergeists, ghosts, ghouls, and zombies while keeping a watchful eye on a group of misbehaving teens.
“I’m Not Ashamed” — Written by Bodie Thoene, Robin Hanley, Kari Redmond, and Philipa Booyens
“I’ve always been drawn to hands. I think it’s because it’s the way we touch people,” Columbine High School student Rachel Joy Scott wrote in her journal. “If one person could go out of their way to show compassion, it could start a chain reaction.” Growing up, Rachel knew the joy of Christianity, but she wasn’t always ready to receive it. At times her faith was on fire … and at other times it was at odds with her everyday life. Having reached a breaking point, Rachel found inspiration from her “big brother” — a former homeless teen who shared her faith. “I’m Not Ashamed” is Rachel’s (portrayed by Masey McLain) inspiring true story.
“It Had To Be You” — Co-Written and Directed by Sasha Gordon
Sonia (Cristin Milioti) is a quirky, neurotic jingle writer who has always dreamt of a big and exciting life. Surprised by a sudden proposal and subsequent ultimatum from her easy-going boyfriend, Chris (Dan Soder), Sonia has three days to decide whether she’ll join the ranks of her married friends or take a leap and pursue her fantasies. Blinded by anxiety, and pulled towards a fantastical idea of becoming the kind of woman she always idealized in films and literature, Sonia decides she isn’t ready to get married. Instead she goes on a solo trip to Rome to finally shed her inhibitions. However, reality quickly catches up to her as her journey proves a lot bumpier than the idyllic “Eat Pray Love” she’d envisioned.
“El Jeremías” — Written by Ana Sofia Clerici
Set in Sonora, Mexico, “El Jeremías” tells the story of Jeremías (Martin Castro), an eight-year-old who finds out he is gifted and initiates a journey of self discovery. When an opportunistic physiologist makes contact with Jeremías, a new world of experience opens up to him but costs him the family he loves. Jeremías must choose between this exciting, lonely new world and being home with his loving family.
“The Uncondemned” (Documentary) — Written and Co-Directed by Michele Mitchell
“The Uncondemned” is a riveting documentary about an underdog group of lawyers and activists who defied the odds to do what had never been done: prosecute rape as an international war crime. In 1997, the young men and women at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda found themselves inexplicably in charge of the first case of genocide in history. Crimes of war and against humanity had not been prosecuted since 1946, and surviving witnesses feared for their lives. And then, based on a last minute revelation, the prosecuting team amended the charge to include rape. Three heroic women would overcome their fears and shame to speak for all those who could not. “The Uncondemned” captures the untold, remarkable story that changed the course of international judicial history.
“The Whole Truth” — Directed by Courtney Hunt (Also Available on VOD)
Defense attorney Richard Ramsay (Keanu Reeves) takes on a personal case when he swears to his widowed friend, Loretta Lassiter (Renée Zellweger), that he will keep her son, Mike (Gabriel Basso), out of prison. Charged with murdering his father, Mike initially confesses to the crime. But as the trial proceeds, chilling evidence about the kind of man that Boone Lassiter (Jim Belushi) really was comes to light. While Ramsay uses the evidence to get his client acquitted, his new colleague Janelle (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) tries to dig deeper — and begins to realize that the whole truth is something she alone can uncover.
October 25
“Portrait of a Garden” (Documentary) — Directed by Rosie Stapel (Opens in NY) (Also Available on VOD)
In a picturesque garden on a grand country estate, two longtime friends, an 85-year-old pruning master and a gardener, tend to the espaliers. Surrounded by vegetable patches, citrus trees, the orchard, and lush grapevines, they talk about food, the weather, their craft (which is quickly disappearing), and the changing world around them. For 15 years, they’ve been working on the pear arbor. But will it finally come together this year? And what about the harvest, will it be ready for the end-of-season banquet? Capturing one year in the life of this historic garden, “Portrait of a Garden” is a beautiful, transcendent viewing experience.
October 28
“The Eagle Huntress” (Documentary) (Opens in NY and LA)
Narrated by Daisy Ridley, “The Eagle Huntress” follows Aisholpan, a 13-year-old girl, as she trains to become the first female in 12 generations of her Kazakh family to become an eagle hunter, and rises to the pinnacle of a tradition that has been typically been handed down from father to son for centuries.
“By Sidney Lumet” (Documentary) — Directed by Nancy Buirski (Opens in NY; Opens November 4 in LA)
Film legend Sidney Lumet (1924–2011) tells his own story in a never-before-seen interview shot in 2008. With candor, humor, and grace, Lumet reveals what matters to him as an artist and as a human being. The documentary features clips from Lumet’s films — 44 made in 50 years — including “Serpico,” “Dog Day Afternoon,” “12 Angry Men,” “Network,” and “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead.” Filmmaker Nancy Buirski combines these elements to create a portrait of one of the most accomplished, influential, and socially conscious directors in the history of cinema. (Tribeca Film Festival)
“I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House” (Also Available on Netflix)
Lily (Ruth Wilson) is a naïve young nurse hired to care for the aging and reclusive author Iris Bloom (Paula Prentiss) — based on mystery and horror novelist Shirley Jackson — in her isolated country manor. The old woman is lost in her memories and barely acknowledges her caregiver, except to repeatedly call her “Polly,” the protagonist of her novel “The Lady in the Walls.” Though Lily is squeamish and easily frightened, her curiosity gets the better of her and she reads the book, which tells the chilling story of a murdered woman. It gets under Lily’s skin, and she comes unhinged as the shadows of Iris’ grand home begin to take on a more sinister appearance. (Toronto International Film Festival)
“Rings”
Julia (Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz) becomes worried about her boyfriend, Holt (Alex Roe), when he explores the dark urban legend of a mysterious videotape said to kill the watcher after seven days. Julia sacrifices herself to save Holt and makes a horrifying discovery: there is a “movie within the movie” that no one has ever seen before.
“The Windmill” — Co-Written by Suzy Quid (Also Available on VOD)
Jennifer (Charlotte Beaumont), an Australian girl on the run from her past, washes up in Amsterdam. In a desperate attempt to stay one step ahead of the authorities, she joins a group of tourists embarking on a tour of Holland’s world-famous windmills. When the bus breaks down in the middle of nowhere, she and the other tourists are forced to seek shelter in a disused shed beside a sinister windmill where, legend has it, a Devil-worshipping miller once ground the bones of locals instead of grain. As members of the group start to disappear, Jennifer learns that they all have something in common — a shared secret that seems to mark them all for doom.
October 31
“Hostage to the Devil” (Documentary) — Co-Written by Rachel Lysaght
A child possessed. An exorcist locked in combat with an ancient evil. Using first-hand interviews, dramatic reconstruction, archival evidence, and Martin’s own words, this film tells the true story of Father Malachi Martin and asks, in the battle for saving a soul, just who really is hostage to the Devil?
