Picks of the Week offers Women and Hollywood’s top recommendations — women-driven and women-made movies, series, VOD releases, and more — and tells you why they are worth your time and money.
Saint Frances – Written by Kelly O’Sullivan
Motherhood — the prospect of motherhood, too, really — is complex. (Duh.) We still don’t talk about that often enough. Women who generally dislike kids can be wonderful mothers. Women who enjoy children can be ambivalent about having kids of their own. Sometimes, even if they’re of the “right” age and have a stable partner and income and the biological clock keeps ticking and society keeps pressuring them to do so, women are still unsure about the whole motherhood thing. Sometimes women who already have children are still unsure about the whole motherhood thing. Lots of women, mothers or not, get annoyed when they’re subjected to endless pictures of other people’s kids.
“Saint Frances,” starring and written by Kelly O’Sullivan, isn’t afraid to dive deep into the many different aspects of maturity, pregnancy, and motherhood, especially the details culture tends to gloss over. In other words, there’s a lot of blood in this movie, menstrual and otherwise. Get over it.
Bridget (O’Sullivan) is 34 and in a rut, although she’s not particularly unhappy. She takes a job as a nanny to young Frances (Ramona Edith-Williams), the precocious child of Maya (Charin Alvarez) and Annie (Lily Mojekwu). Around the same time, Bridget unexpectedly gets pregnant and undergoes a medical abortion. Along the way, she becomes closer with Frances and Maya, goes through several romantic adventures, and halfheartedly tries to figure out what she wants from adult life. Like many women, she goes back and forth about motherhood as a concept, and whether it’s for her. She knows she’s not ready to be a mom right now, but maybe someday?
“Saint Frances” presents comedy and drama in equal measure, mostly by depicting uncomfortable truths about womanhood and motherhood. (At one point, Bridget’s mom goes into graphic detail about her own postpartum depression, for example. It’s glorious.) The SXSW award winner, as they say, isn’t afraid to “go there,” and it’s all the better for that. (Rachel Montpelier)
“Saint Frances” opens February 28 in NY, and will roll out to additional cities in the coming weeks. Find screening info here.
I Am Not Okay with This (Series) – Created by Christy Hall and Jonathan Entwistle
“I Am Not Okay with This”: Netflix
After standout supporting turns in “Sharp Objects” and the “It” franchise, Sophia Lillis proves she’s more than capable of carrying a series in “I Am Not Okay with This.” An adaptation of Charles Forsman’s graphic novel of the same name, the coming-of-age story centers on a self-described “boring 17-year-old white girl” living in Pittsburgh. Sydney (Lillis) is struggling to connect with her mom (Kathleen Rose Perkins) following the death of her father, and resents all of the responsibility her overworked mom, a waitress working long hours at a diner, passes on to her. Meanwhile, Sydney’s best friend Dina (Sofia Bryant), for whom she harbors more-than-platonic feelings, is dating a jerk whom Sydney can barely tolerate being in the presence of.
Despite what she claims, Sydney’s life isn’t boring. And that’s to say nothing of her burgeoning telekinetic powers. The teenager deludes herself into believing the physical changes she’s experiencing are hormonal but the reality of her situation becomes impossible to ignore — especially when someone else witnesses her superpowers in action.
Lillis’ performance really elevates the material. Whether Sydney’s desperately searching for the right words, not-so-subtly admiring Dina, or psyching herself up to stand up to her little brother’s (Aidan Wojtak-Hissong) bullies, she’s impossible to look away from. In moments big and small, Lillis nails it, and she’s what convinced me to stick around for “I Am Not Okay with This'” eight-episode debut season. (Laura Berger)
“I Am Not Okay with This” is now streaming on Netflix.
Queen Sono (Series)
“Queen Sono”: Netflix
Do you particularly enjoy stories that involve any of the following: espionage, glamour, locales that aren’t centered in North America, Western Europe, or Australia? Well, you’re in luck — Netflix’s “Queen Sono,” has them all.
The titular character, played by Pearl Thusi, lives a double life. She’s a talented, high-powered secret agent, but — since she has to hide that from her loved ones — most of her friends and family think she’s aimless and aloof. Queen’s profession takes her all over Africa, and mostly involves gathering intel on foreign white billionaires who deal arms to radical groups across the continent.
“Queen Sono” looks like, and is, an expensive soap opera. Yet its setting and characters imbue it with extra depth. Queen’s job, not to mention life in general in South Africa, is haunted by the history of apartheid. She’s also living in the shadow of her revolutionary mother, Safiya Sono, a revered South African hero who was assassinated when Queen was a young girl. Queen obviously respects Safiya as a person and political figure, but has complicated feelings about her as a mother. Discussions about the lasting impact of colonialism, corruption, the possibility of morality and violence ever coinciding, war crimes and those who inflict them, and who gets to “fix” Africa’s problems also frequently come into play throughout the series.
Featuring a breakout performance from Thusi — whose Queen is witty, cynical, and just plain cool — “Queen Sono’s” overtly political streak is what sets it apart from other glitzy series. Queen inhabits the usual female superspy tropes — she uses her good looks to seduce dumb marks, goes “undercover” in high-end couture, etc. — but the trauma of her personal life and her homeland complicates and strengthens her story.
“Queen Sono” is making history as Netflix’s first original series in Africa, which is a good reason to check it out. Its thought-provoking plotlines and compelling lead make it worth watching in full. (RM)
“Queen Sono” hits Netflix February 28.
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