In this 1970s set crime drama, a woman is forced to go on the run after her husband betrays his partners, sending her and her baby on a dangerous journey.
Filmmaker Julia Hart is a busy woman. Since 2014, she’s accumulated a highly diverse portfolio of cinematic projects: a western (“The Keeping Room”), a comedy (“Miss Stevens”), a science fiction oddity (“Fast Color”), and a Disney kiddie flick (“Stargirl”). What unites all those seemingly disparate films are their strong female protagonists, in roles typically reserved for men, whom Hart nonchalantly — without speechifying or slamming you over the head with empowerment messages — follows through their trials and tribulations.
With “I’m Your Woman,” Hart continues this trend while venturing into stylized, retro-thriller territory. Her hero, Jean (Rachel Brosnahan), would be delegated to the “supporting or despairing wife” role in your average Hollywood blockbuster — but Hart reverses the trend, focusing instead on the wife of a hoodlum and her arduous travails. Hart’s approach pays off, thanks largely to a fierce turn from her lead.
Set in the 1970s, “I’m Your Woman” follows Jean, who is married to Eddie (Bill Heck), a thief and a generally shady individual. One day, he brings a baby home and announces to Jean that the child is theirs. Soon after, Eddie disappears. The mysterious Cal (Arinzé Kene) shows up, who claims to have worked with Jean’s husband, now there to protect her. When she presses him about Eddie’s vanishing act, he exclaims, “No one knows where he is! Everyone’s looking. And they’re looking for you too.”
Trusting Cal to protect her and the baby, Jean embarks on a journey that involves an emergency hospital run, several close calls with the hoodlums on their trail, and two safe houses, the second one belonging to Cal’s wife Teri (Marsha Stephanie Blake) and father Art (Frankie Faison). Hart showcases some action chops, her film culminating in a tense car chase sequence.
This is a contemplative thriller, one whose violent outbursts are rendered that much more exhilarating by the silences in-between. The narrative ebbs and flows… and sometimes sputters a tad. What Jean is running from, exactly, remains ambiguous for at least half the film’s time (if not the entire film, one could argue). We know it’s “bandits” and that “Eddie’s a killer” but little-to-no backstory is given, perhaps purposefully so: here’s a woman shedding her past and literally journeying towards her future, with a child in tow. Regardless, the resulting effect is somewhat disjointed, holding you at an arm’s length.
Gripes aside, it’s all highly stylized, crisply shot in throwback 1970s orange hues (the sun just shone differently back then, didn’t it?), complemented by a jazzy-disco score — all of which propels the film along. Hart and her crew nail the little details: Cap doesn’t light his cigarettes when he “smokes” (“It helps”); there’s a short-but-tense encounter with a racist cop; Jean losing it with the eggs in the kitchen is a sight to behold, as are sequences of her hiding in various places: in a closet with a baby, or in a phone booth, while a shooting takes place.
Brosnahan, who uncannily resembles Evan Rachel Wood, is the thread that truly holds it all together. She single-handedly turns this film into a tale of self-redemption and discovery, buoying it with steely determination and unexpected vulnerability. There’s a moment where she experiences an emotional breakdown and is consequently comforted by strangers — just one searing display of Brosnahan’s skills among many.
At two hours, most of which move at a rather leisurely pace, “I’m Your Woman” may confound some viewers expecting non-stop throwback action. But I applaud Hart’s resolve to turn this thriller into an atmospheric character piece. Now the question is: what does the filmmaker have for us in store next? Perhaps a stab at horror, with the killer — wait for it — a woman? Veronica Voorhees? Samantha Krueger? The possibilities are endless, and I can’t wait.
In Select Theaters (including the Inwood Theatre in Dallas) and on Amazon Prime Video Friday, December 11th
