Four Strong Women

This past month has been a month of good movies featuring intrepid women. The first one is a fictional series “Lessons in Chemistry”(Apple). I have not completed it because it is one of those one week at a time series, so the review is based on the first three or four episodes, the first of which I wholeheartedly enjoyed–the next two not so much. Although still quite watchable something feels just a little off. The opening credits don’t seem to reflect the mood of the show: an image of a pink book cover with kind of upbeat songs and a pencil moving around, leading me to think that this is some kind of a romp. But it certainly isn’t so far! Set in the 50’s the issues regarding women are very accurate: Elizabeth is a brilliant chemist but her work is snubbed by the men in charge and her ground breaking PhD work thwarted by virulent sexism. The sets are accurate but the dialogue is occasionally anachronistic and tons of science words are thrown around that aren’t particularly convincing (if any of you out there are chemists please chime in as to my saying this. I passed college chemistry with a D+). Critics are raving about the acting, but Elizabeth’s affect is very flat, the cause of which has been speculated by several critics. On the other hand, genuinely moving is Naomi King in a fabulous performance as Harriet, a black neighbor and friend in the affluent black community of Sugar Hill fighting the construction of the Santa Monica Freeway. Their efforts were unsuccessful and a beautiful historic neighborhood was destroyed. For that tragic story alone the series is worth watching.

The documentary “The Woman Who Loves Giraffes”(Kanopy) also focuses on a scientist, Anne Innis Dagg, a Canadian zoologist who in the early 1950’s at age 20 was not only the first woman, but the first person to study giraffes in their natural African habitat. Like the fictional Elizabeth, her career was sabotaged by sexism. But she forged on, undaunted, writing several seminal books and at age ninety is still a spokesperson for conservation and feminism.

Not really a scientist but an equally brave adventurer is Robyn Davidson who in 1977 began a 1700 mile trek across the Australian Desert ending at the Indian Ocean. She has a beloved dog, four camels and not much else. The movie “Tracks” (Amazon, Apple) is a narrative film based on that memoir. I couldn’t imagine a film like that holding my interest but somehow it did. The acting is strong, the scenery fascinating, and the trek quite interesting. Adam Driver as the National Geographic photographer assigned to document stages of the trek is well cast. Mia Wasikowska is a terrific actress who bears a striking resemblance to Davidson at that age.

And now on a completely different planet is conceptual artist Marina Abramovic’s “The Artist is Present” (Kanopy”). If you are not familiar with her work this will be a good introduction. Recommended companion piece is her memoir Walk through Walls which covers much more than the film but provides a great backdrop. Some may call her work narcissistic and exhibitionistic (justifiably). I find it moving and provocative. I wish I had gone to the MOMA 2010 where she sat in a chair for three months face-to-face with individuals lined up to look in her eyes. Like her work, the documentation of it is gripping, provocative, and theatrical. Some of you will hate it. I loved it and am desperate for a follow up conversation.