Top 10 Movies Directed by Women
Any film could benefit from a feminine touch. Join MsMojo as we count down the Top 10 films directed by women. For this list, we're focusing on feature films directed by women, which means that no short films have been included or documentaries such as Leni Riefenstahl's “Triumph of the Will.” Of course, no men are included either.
Special thanks to our user Benny Z for submitting the idea on our Interactive Suggestion Tool at http://www.MsMojo.tv
#10: “The Kids Are All Right” (2010) Lisa Cholodenko
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Co-written and directed by Lisa Cholodenko, “The Kids Are All Right” examines what happens when a sperm donor comes knockin’ on the door of a lesbian couple and their children. Based in part on elements from her own life, this character study about family and sexuality, like much of Cholodenko’s work, brought LGBTQ issues to the mainstream. Making many top 10 lists of the year’s best films, “The Kids Are All Right” was met with some criticism due to its subject matter, but also practically universal acclaim from critics, proving that Cholodenko had struck a chord with her telling of this tale.
#9: “The Hitch-Hiker” (1953) Ida Lupino
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Back when film noir had thoroughly engulfed the Hollywood movie system, a talented English dame was all the rage in front of and behind the camera. And after Ida Lupino was “suspended” for turning down a role, she decided to become the first woman to direct a film noir feature, and “The Hitch-Hiker” has long been acknowledged as one of the best. When two fishing buddies stop to pick up a gent on the road, they discover that he’s not exactly “on the level.” In classic film noir fashion, things go very sour very quickly, and Lupino keeps the stress levels high at every turn, demonstrating her eye for filmmaking.
#8: “Selma” (2014) Ava DuVernay
His name was Martin Luther King, Jr., and his dream of civil rights touched an entire nation. To honor one of America’s greatest heroes, filmmaker Ava DuVernay focused on King’s 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama as he led followers seeking their right to vote on an historic and often violent march. With her work on “Selma,” which beautifully dramatized a brutal period in American history, DuVernay became the first African-American woman to direct a film nominated for Best Picture, and she’s one of the new best new talents to emerge in recent years.
#7: “Winter’s Bone” (2010) Debra Granik
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At the time of this film’s release, Jennifer Lawrence had yet to really make her mark in Hollywood, but for her breakthrough role in cinema, she joined forces with director Debra Granik to play a motherly teenager from the Ozarks forced to pick up the pieces of her crumbling family. Critics praised the indie hit, which cost only $2 million to make, and Granik’s direction, pointing out that she refused to judge the characters she depicted and instead built a dreary and disturbing world that still somehow left viewers with a sense of optimism. Not to mention, in Lawrence, Granik found the perfect Ree Dolly.
#6: “Big” (1988) Penny Marshall
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A lanky Tom Hanks. A man-made fortuneteller named Zoltar. A phantasmagorical, coming-of-age concept. These were the ingredients for a film directed by Penny Marshall, and after becoming the first woman director to net over $100 million at the box office, she began to shed her image as Laverne DeFazio from the classic television series “Laverne and Shirley.” Audiences typically enjoy a feel-good plot with a versatile actor in the lead role; however back in the late ‘80s, the entire production was a gamble and one that established Hanks as a legitimate box office star. And he had Penny Marshall to thank for it.
#5: “Monster” (2003) Patty Jenkins
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A film possibly most famous for the physical and emotional transformation of its lead actress, “Monster” is the real life story of a former prostitute executed for murdering six men. Directed by Patty Jenkins, the film is a psychological study that takes care not to its main character, despite her failings. “Monster” earned every major acting award for Charlize Theron, and Roger Ebert called it the third best of the decade. Jenkins went on to earn an Emmy nomination for directing the pilot of “The Killing” and was tapped to direct the “Wonder Woman” film, but this terrifying drama that paved the way.
#4: “American Psycho” (2000) Mary Harron
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Speaking of serial killer movies, this female-directed flick is steeped more in satire than historical fact. Based on the 1991 novel by Bret Easton Ellis, “American Psycho” became a cult hit in large part to Christian Bale’s hilarious yet disturbing portrayal of Manhattan business man Patrick Bateman, and of course, the direction of Mary Harron. She was brought in to take fellow Canadian David Cronenberg seat in the director’s chair, and she ingeniously brought the ‘80s to gruesome life, championing for the lead from the start. While “American Psycho” is sometimes labeled misogynist, knowing that it wasdirected by a woman brings the satire to whole new levels.
#3: “Boys Don’t Cry” (1999) Kimberly Peirce
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Once a photographer based in Japan and later a protégé of TIME magazine photojournalist Alfred Eisenstaedt, Kimberly Peirce found herself working on a provocative Civil War screenplay while a graduate student at Columbia University. Originally intending to write about a female soldier in drag, Peirce shifted her attention to the 1993 rape and murder of a Nebraska transman by the name of Brandon Teena. With a young Hilary Swank in the lead role, “Boys Don’t Cry” opened up a worldwide dialogue about LGBTQ issues without sensationalizing them, and remains the definitive production in the small but potent filmography of Kimberly Peirce.
#2: “The Hurt Locker” (2008) Kathryn Bigelow
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In a year when America elected its first African-American president, never before had a female won the Academy Award for Best Director. That all changed, however, upon the release of Kathryn Bigelow’s “The Hurt Locker,” a film about the realities of war addiction, both internationally and domestically. While she had previously blown us away with her work on 1991’s “Point Break” and would again with 2012’s “Zero Dark Thirty,” Bigelow opened the eyes of viewers long familiar with distressing war films with a no holds barred take on a three-man bomb disposal squad, and her acute direction and attention to authenticity led to numerous accolades. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions: - “Sleepless in Seattle” (1993) Nora Ephron - “Wayne’s World” (1992) Penelope Spheeris - “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” (1982) Amy Heckerling - “We Need to Talk About Kevin” (2011) Lynne Ramsay - “Seven Beauties” (1975) Lina Wertmüller
#1: “Lost in Translation” (2003) Sofia Coppola
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Even as the daughter of a legendary American filmmaker, Sofia Coppola didn’t exactly have an “Apocalypse Now”-sized budget for her second feature with only $4 million to play with. What she did have, though, was a natural gift for pure cinema, and with the likes of Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson in the lead roles, the story she wrote of a chance meeting between two lost souls in Tokyo translated to a master class of independent filmmaking. In a cinematic world of big-budget flicks and special effects, “Lost in Translation” reminded moviegoers that sometimes less is more. Do you agree with our list? What’s your favorite movie directed by a woman? For more mind-blowing Top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to MsMojo.