Who Are the Best Female Film Directors?

You won’t find many female directors among the big blockbuster films or many among mainstream films in general really. If you ask someone to name a female film director everybody could probably name one, some may even name two, but to name three or four would present a challenge to the majority of cinema audiences. I have put together this list of who I believe to be the best 5 female directors working today.

5. Andrea Arnold

Andrea Arnold made her debut with the twenty six minute long short film Wasp, which won her the Oscar for Best Short Film back in 2005. Her films have continued to create a great sense of poverty in Britain and she has gone on to direct Michael Fassbender in one of my favourite films of all time: Fish Tank.

Arnold’s previous 3 films: Red Road (2006); Fish Tank (2009); Wuthering Heights (2011)

4. Deepa Mehta

Mehta is an Indio-Canadian director who is most famous for her Elements trilogy which contained the films Fire, Earth and Water. These films tackled strong political issues in India and due to Mehta making Water from an outsiders point of view (looking back at India from her Canadian home) a lot of controversy was caused in the filming of the climax to her trilogy, involving riots and violence forcing the filming to move to Sri Lanka, rather than India.

Mehta’s previous 3 films: Water (2005); Heaven on Earth (2008); Midnight’s Children (2012)

3. Sofia Coppola

Daughter of Francis Ford Coppola, Sofia has carved out a very different path from the The Godfather director. She won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay after writing Lost in Translation, which was also nominated for Best Picture and Best Director. She continues to write and direct her own films with her latest, The Bling Ring, out this year.

Coppola’s previous 3 films: Marie Antoinette (2006); Somewhere (2010); The Bling Ring (2013)

2. Susanne Bier

Bier never seems to miss the mark with any of her pictures. Despite never being nominated for an Oscar in her career I can’t help but think that she should have been. Bier studied in Jerusalem and London before retuning to Denmark to attend film school. The majority of her films have been made in Scandinavia but she has dabbled in American cinema with Things We Lost in the Fire.

Bier’s previous 3 films: In A Better World (2010); Love Is All You Need (2012); Serena (2013)

1. Kathryn Bigelow

Could it be anyone else? Over the last couple of years Bigelow has become the major figurehead for female film makers. The Hurt Locker defied expectations to take home the Best Picture Oscar when up against Avatar and won Bigelow the Best Director Oscar over James Cameron. She was the first to take on the Osama Bin Laden manhunt with Zero Dark Thirty, which was also nominated for Best Picture. Her next project is unknown at the minute but the Bigelow name seems to be a sure signifier of quality in modern cinema.

Bigelow’s previous 3 films: K-19: The Widwomaker (2002); The Hurt Locker (2008); Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

Wild Bill (2011) Review

“What did he want?”

“Shooting.”

The best line of the film in my opinion.

The main reason I decided to sit down and watch Wild Bill is because it is the directorial debut of Dexter Fletcher. Fletcher has always provided good performances in front of the camera (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Band of Brothers, Kick-Ass) so I was interested to see how he would get on behind the camera. And any expectations I had before watching were completely blown out of the water within minutes.

Charlie Creed-Miles is “Wild” Bill Hayward, just released from prison on parole after serving eight years for numerous crimes. Bill returns home to find his two sons Dean (15) and Jimmy (11), who he hasn’t seen since he got sent down, have been abandoned by their mother who has fled to Spain. A bond between Bill and Jimmy quickly develops, and Dean gradually comes around to the idea of having his father around. However, their domestic life is short-lived, when Jimmy starts drug-dealing for some local villains.

The story is set against the backdrop of the London Olympic stadium construction site as this is where Dean has been working in order to look after his younger brother. This setting immediately allows the audience to be sucked in to the world of the film and it brings a great sense of realism to Wild Bill.  The grittiness and realism of a working class family in recession hit London really helps the film stand out, especially as it is very easy to recognise several problems that the film brings up including poverty, family breakdown and the fall of society; something we, in the UK especially, can all recognise. Credit has to go to Fletcher and Danny King, the writers of the film, to bringing up these problems for all to see.

From left to right: Fletcher, Poulter, Creed Miles, Flemyng.

As Wild Bill Charlie Creed-Miles is brilliant. The character development is there for all to see and Creed-Miles portrays two very different sides to his character; the thug/prisoner/chav that doesn’t care about anything, and then the caring father trying to make an effort with his children, even if he does get it very wrong at times. But the real star of the show is Will Poulter who plays Dean. Poulter carries a great air of maturity and it is very easy to feel for his character thanks to the emotion that he brings to the role. There are appearances from other British actors that different audiences will recognise: Liz White (Life on Mars), Iwan Rheon (Misfits) Andy Serkis (Lord of the Rings), Marc Warren (Hustle) and even a small appearance from Fletcher’s good friend and colleague Jason Flemyng.

Wild Bill is wonderfully acted and is a true example of brilliant character development. Their are strong themes, a strong storyline and even stronger performances. I would argue that Wild Bill is quite possibly the best British film I have ever seen.

My Rating: 10/10.

Winter’s Bone (2010) Reviewed.

***WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS***

Winter’s Bone, an American independent drama, was released back in 2010. It launched Jennifer Lawrence’s career and achieved critical acclaim at the same time, being nominated for four Oscars.

Ree Dolly is a seventeen year old girl living in the Ozarks. Here she takes care of her catatonic mother as well as her brother and sister. Ree’s father is out on bail and skips his jury date, going missing which means that Ree and her family will lose their home, which was put up as a bond for her father, unless Ree can find him.

Jennifer Lawrence is absolutely brilliant as the unflinching main character and carries the film superbly well. Maybe I am a little biased due to my love for Jennifer Lawrence but her performance in Winter’s Bone saw her become the second youngest actress to be nominated for Best Actress at the Oscars so she can’t have been that bad! The acting in this film is actually breathtaking. A lot of the cast had never acted before appearing in this low budget drama but you could never tell that. Each and every cast member gives a fantastic performance, right from Jennifer Lawrence and John Hawkes all the way down to the two children that play Ree’s younger brother and sister.

The story blends together themes of family, patriarchy, self-sufficiency and poverty and in doing so, Winter’s Bone managers to grasp a great sense of realism. Much of the story is told through pictures and visuals rather than dialogue as for most of the film there is very little talking going on. It means that great attention is needed to fully understand the development of the story and you will need to work hard to pick up on certain plot points. This doesn’t make the film any worse though and Debra Granik should be praised for her great directorial work.

Unfortunately, Winter’s Bone is incredibly slow paced and whilst this is probably done to give a more realist layer to the film it can leave the audience, at times, just waiting for the next big thing to happen and it might not happen for a long time. The first half of the film especially is very slow and we take a longer time than needed, perhaps, to get to know the ins and outs of Ree’s family. Slow pacing meant that this hour and a half long film feel a lot longer than it is.

Winter’s Bone takes itself very seriously, at times too seriously. But as well as this, the whole mystery of where her father is or who has killed him is built up as if we are in for a shock ending, something big. However, the ending is very anti-climatic and leaves a hole inside the audience, leaving them feel like they have missed out on something.

Despite this though, Winter’s Bone did get 4 Oscar nominations and will probably split audiences. As many people like this, there will be just as many people who don’t and I can see why people would or would not like this drama, but I did like it.

My Rating: 7/10.