Films About Women Opening

Very Good Girls — Written and Directed by Naomi Foner

Very Good Girls, the first directing effort from veteran screenwriter Naomi Foner, is a nostalgic look at girls on the cusp of womanhood. While it is set in contemporary times, the girls, with wonderful performances from Dakota Fanning and Elizabeth Olsen, are different from the teenagers we see on screen today. They still have an innocence about themselves and their lives and, quite frankly, it was a delight to see a portrait of young women coming of age that was not steeped in the social-media culture that shapes our existence today. The story is about the primacy and the fragility of girls’ relationships, how they are so close that it sometimes seems as if they are one, and how deeply hurtful a betrayal can be. Foner may never have directed before, but you feel her life experience on the screen, and I look forward to seeing her next effort. (Melissa Silverstein)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Naomi Foner about Very Good Girls.

Lucy

From La Femme Nikita and The Professional to The Fifth Element, writer/director Luc Besson has created some of the toughest, most memorable female action heroes in cinematic history. Now, Besson directs Scarlett Johansson in Lucy, an action-thriller that tracks a woman accidentally caught in a dark deal who turns the tables on her captors and transforms into a merciless warrior evolved beyond human logic. (Rottentomatoes.com)

Happy Christmas

When Jenny (Anna Kendrick), a hard partying 20-something moves in with Kelly (Melanie Lynskey), a budding novelist, her film director husband (Joe Swanberg) and their two-year-old son after a break up, the family’s idlyllic life is shaken. Jenny begins a rocky relationship with their baby-sitter-cum-pot dealer (Mark Webber), and she and a friend, Carson (Lena Dunham), bring Kelly to the realization that an evolution in her life, career and relationship is necessary for her happiness. (Rottentomatoes.com)

Films About Women Currently Playing

A Five Star Life — Directed by Maria Sole Tognazzi; Co-Written by Francesca Marciano and Maria Sole Tognazzi
Tammy — Co-Written by Melissa McCarthy
Belle — Directed by Amma Asante; Written by Misan Sagay
Obvious Child — Written and Directed by Gillian Robespierre
The Fault in Our Stars
Maleficent — Written by Linda Woolverton
We Are the Best!
Ida
Under the Skin

Films Directed by Women Opening

Step Up All In — Directed by Trish Sie

In the next exciting chapter of the international phenomenon Step Up, all-stars from previous installments come together in glittering Las Vegas, battling for a victory that could define their dreams and their careers. (Rottentomatoes.com)

Films Directed by Women Currently Playing

Land Ho! — Co-Directed by Martha Stephens
Citizen Koch (doc) — Co-Directed by Tia Lessin
Fed Up (doc) — Co-Written and Directed by Stephanie Soechtig

Films Written by Women Currently Playing

Sex Tape — Co-Written by Kate Angelo
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes — Co-Written by Amanda Silver