Scandal , with Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman and Margot Robbie: on Amazon Prime Video
Women who were in the background are increasingly gaining the spotlight . I chose 35 female characters from various eras, real or fiction, famous or anonymous, straight, bisexual, lesbian or trans. It’s the diversity on screen, represented by wonderful actresses like Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore, Sandra Bullock, Viola Davis, Nicole Kidman, Halle Berry, Jessica Chastain… The films are divided between Amazon Prime Video and Netflix .
Amazon Prime Video
Gloria Bell > Separated from her husband, the 50-year-old Gloria (Julianne Moore) divides herself between work and pleasures, such as gymnastics and dancing. When she meets a newly divorced man (John Turturro), she believes she has rediscovered love. Her character and everyday life are not out of the ordinary – and it is precisely the triviality that makes the film reach relevance.
The Scandal > In 2016, journalist Megyn Kelly (Charlize Theron) faces the machismo of Donald Trump, then candidate for the Presidency of the United States. Then the presenter Gretchen Carlson (Nicole Kidman), also an employee of Fox News, decides to denounce the CEO of the network for sexual harassment.
Molly’s Game / A Grande Jogada > Molly Bloom (Jessica Chastain) era esquiadora olímpica, mas sofreu um acidente e virou secretária. Anos depois, envolveu-se no mesmo ramo de seu patrão: jogos de pôquer clandestinos para ricos e famosos.
Conviction > Hilary Swank interpreta Betty Anne Waters, uma garçonete de uma pequena cidade de Massachusetts, que leva uma vida modesta ao lado da família. Quando seu irmão (Sam Rockwell) é acusado de assassinato, ocorrido em 1980, ela acredita em sua inocência. E, anos depois, decide virar advogada para provar a inocência dele.
Rose’s Madness > Rebellious and irresponsible Rose (Jessie Buckley) has been arrested for smuggling heroin, putting off her dream of singing country music in a Glasgow bar. She then starts to save money as a day laborer to make a career in Nashville, in the United States.
Colette > The film features a real character: the writer Colette (Keira Knightley), who rebelled against her husband, had relationships with women and performed half-naked in cabarets — all of this in the early 20th century (!). The feminist tone is well suited to current times.
The Assistant > Jane (Julia Garner) is a secretary who, in the illusion of working in the film industry, realizes the conflicting task she will have, how to relate to two male chauvinist colleagues. The situation is complicated when a naive country girl appears saying that she has been hired as an “assistant” to her boss.
All the Money in the World > Michelle Williams claws at the role of the mother who, with the help of a negotiator (Mark Wahlberg), moves mountains to free her son. The teenager has been kidnapped and is, quite simply, the grandson of American billionaire Jean Paul Getty, who refuses to pay the ransom. The plot, inspired by a real case, takes place in 1973.
The Secrets We Keep > Romanian Maja (Noomi Rapace) met her husband at the end of World War II, in Europe, and lives in a city in the United States. In the early 60’s, she recognizes a man (Joel Kinnaman), who would have been a Nazi officer – and does everything to get revenge on the executioner who traumatized her.
Indecency > In the Romanian film, two friends from the countryside apply for a place at a university in Bucharest. When they are caught cheating on a test, they are expelled from the room and one of them has her cell phone confiscated by the teacher. The next day, he meets them again and makes a proposal: to seal the peace with a dinner at his house.
Suprema > Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Felicity Jones) é casada e mãe de uma garotinha. Em meados dos anos 50, enfrentou o ambiente machista da prestigiada Universidade Harvard para poder cursar Direito. A inspiradora trajetória da protagonista chega até os anos 70 quando ela batalha pela igualdade de gênero nos tribunais.
As Golpistas > Dançarina numa boate, Destiny faz da desajeitada Destiny (Constance Wu) sua pupila. Com a crise econômica de 2007 nos Estados, a clientela, formada por executivos de Wall Street, desaparece. Para não perder o alto padrão de vida, elas encontram uma saída.
Emergency Call > After falling into depression and being removed from her job, Jordan Turner (Halle Berry), who works as a 911 emergency service attendant, has a chance to turn things around. She takes a call from teenager Casey (Abigail Breslin), who has been kidnapped by a psychopath and thrown into the trunk of a car. It’s a race against time to save the girl.
The Spy > Movie star in her country and in neighboring Sweden, the Norwegian Sonja Wigert has contacts between the artists. She is then subpoenaed by the Swedish secret service to infiltrate the Nazis when Norway is invaded by the Germans.
Meryl Streep: trying to save her marriage in Great Hope Springs (photo: publicity)
Great Hope Springs > Realizing that her relationship with her husband is frayed and they haven’t had sex in four years, Kay (Meryl Streep) pays $4,000 for a week’s couples therapy with renowned Dr. Feld (Steve Carell) . There are Portuguese subtitles in the English title. A Divan for Two has a dubbed copy.
The Mothers of the Third Reich > The French drama begins in 1943, in the region of Alsace, when this region of France is annexed to Germany. Two young women are taken to a military camp and must be subservient to the Nazis. While Lisette sees only benefits in the new everyday life, the rebellious Alice wants to escape from there.
Netflix
Disobedience : hidden passion in a Jewish community (photo: publicity)
Disobedience > Photographer from New York, Ronit (Rachel Weisz) returns to London and meets Esti (Rachel McAdams), an old flame, who is married to a future rabbi. In secret, the women have warm encounters, which cause controversy in the Jewish community.
Lost Girls – The Long Island Crimes > In a true detective story, Mari Gilbert is a mother who wants to clarify the disappearance of her daughter. In 2010, she went after clues that led to Shannan, her first-born call girl, and disappeared after a date in a gated community on the outskirts of Long Island.
Portraits from a War > In 1941, Elena (Lisa Loven) and her daughter (Bel Powley) are taken from their home in Lithuania and taken to a Siberian labor camp. During a harsh winter, women have to (sur)live in a desolate scenario, with little food and being treated brutally by the Russians.
Pieces of Woman > Vanessa Kirby received a well-deserved Oscar nomination 2021 for best actress. She plays Martha, a woman who, after a difficult birth, goes through a period of trials and resilience.
The Art of Loving > In 1970, the doctor Michalina Wislocka tries to publish a book in communist Poland, which deals with love, sex and female orgasm in a natural way. To explain the origin of this true character, the film goes back in time and, from World War II, caught her involved in a love triangle with her husband and her best friend.
The Lady in the Van > In the dramatic comedy, Maggie Smith plays Miss Shepherd, a lady with unsanitary habits who lives in a van in the Camden Town neighborhood of London. Unwanted by the neighbors, she meets a writer, with whom she develops a love-hate relationship.
The Darkest Hour > Jessica Chastain is Maya, a rookie CIA agent, who witnesses, in Pakistan, in 2003, the torture of a prisoner linked to Al Qaeda. For eight years, Maya’s mission is to locate terrorist Osama Bin Laden.
Erin Brockovich > Julia Roberts won an Oscar for her role as Erin Brockovich, a single mother of three who goes to work in a law firm. Upon discovering several cold cases involving water contamination, she leads a mobilization to obtain $333 million in damages from the Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
The Bookstore > In the late 1950s, widow Florence Green (Emily Mortimer) picks a fight with the “bosses” of a fishing village in England by transforming a historic building into the first bookstore in the area.
Antonia > Born in the Netherlands, Willy (Christanne de Bruijn) emigrated to the United States with her parents. In 1926, she works at a theater in New York and becomes fascinated with the conducting work of a fellow countryman. From a humble family, she begins to act as a pianist in a transvestite cabaret and to take piano lessons with a sexist teacher. Her goal, however, is to conduct a symphony orchestra.
The Last Love Letter > In 1965, Jennifer (Shailene Woodley) is married to a millionaire businessman, was in a car accident and lost her memory. In the present day, reporter Ellie (Felicy Jones) finds a love letter. In it, a man sends a message to his beloved making an appointment at a train station. The journalist then goes deep to find out the whereabouts of the lovers.
Elisa y Marcela > The passion between Elisa (Natalia de Molina) and Marcela (Greta Fernández) begins in 1898, when the two study at a Catholic school in A Coruña, Spain. Love is interrupted for three years, and from then on, they will defy convention in a secret relationship. It is inspired by a true story.
Radioactive > Played by Rosamund Pike, Marie Curie, a Polish-born French citizen, had to overcome obstacles to develop her studies on radioactivity and was the only woman to win two Nobel prizes – in physics and chemistry – at the beginning of the 20th century.
Alice Júnior : trans girl fights back prejudices
Alice Júnior > Alice Júnior (Anne Celestino Mota) is a teenager from Recife who moves to the south of the country because of her father’s work. In the school environment, she is shunned by the bigots, as she is a trans girl. But she knows how to fight back verbal abuse and humiliation.
Female Fury > In the Vietnam action movie, Van Veronica Ngo is a debt collector. The rural village where she lives with her little daughter despises her, especially as a single mother. And the situation gets complicated when his girl is kidnapped.
The Supreme Voice of the Blues > Ma Rainey (Viola Davis) is a blues singer with an unparalleled voice who, in 1927, arrives in Chicago to record an album. But the diva is temperamental and gets into friction with the musicians, with her manager and with the owner of the record company.
Blood Red Sky > In the German horror film, Nadja (Peri Baumeister) suffers from an incurable disease and takes a flight to the United States for a bone marrow transplant. The smart Elias (Carl Anton Koch), her little son, accompanies her. It doesn’t take long for the plane to be overrun by terrorists – and she’ll do anything to protect her little boy.
Bird Box > In a post-apocalyptic world, Malorie (Sandra Bullock) and her children must keep their eyes closed to avoid being caught by creatures that have taken over the Earth. Seeing nothing, her mother tries to go down a river to find a safe place to stay with her family.
Rosa and Momo > Italian Sophia Loren plays Rosa, who earns money as a nanny for a neighbor’s son and also for a boy who was abandoned by his mother. The arrival of Momo (Ibrahima Gueye), a 12-year-old Senegalese Muslim who lives on the streets, will turn his life around.