biopic – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

WEEK IN WOMEN: Agnieszka Holland’s FRANZ opens in US Cinemas – Brandy McDonnell reports

August 16, 2026 Brandy McDonnell Agnieszka Holland, biopic, FRANZ, Franz Kafka, the week in women, twiw

Agnieszka Holland’s Franz, a portrait of legendary writer Franz Kafka, who remains celebrated worldwide for his books, short stories, fables and aphorisms, is bowing in theaters on Aug. 21. Billed as Holland’s most ambitious project to date, her biopic of the iconic 20th-century Czech writer had its world premiere last year at the 50th Toronto International Film Festival. It was nominated for a Golden Seashell at the 2025 San Sebastián International Film Festival in Spain, and it became Poland’s official entry to the 98th Academy Awards. For six decades, Holland has remained one of the most compelling filmmakers in global cinema.

Reviews

TONY – Review by T.J. Callahan

August 16, 2026August 16, 2026 T. J. Callahan Anthony Bourdain, antonio banderas, biopic, Dominic Sessa, Emilia Jones, Kitchen Confidential, Leo Woodall, Matt Johnson, Tony

Tony is about chef and author Anthony Bourdain before the restaurants, the books, the television shows and, most importantly, the worldwide fame. The film takes place before Tony became “toney”, if you will. The coming of age docudrama follows the entitled antics of 19 year old Tony while on summer break from college at Vassar in 1975. After being turned down for a writing fellowship, Bourdain heads to Cape Cod to chase a girl, but his misbehavior forces him to work off his debts in a restaurant kitchen where the chef, played charmingly cheeky by Antonio Banderas, and his rag tag cooking crew develop a recipe that changes the main course of Tony’s life.

Reviews

MICHAEL – Review by Susan Granger

May 6, 2026 Susan Granger antoine fuqua, biopic, Colman Domingo, Jaafar Jackson, jackson 5, Joe Jackson, John Logan, King of Pop, Michael, michael jackson, Miles Teller, Nia Long

With the undeniable theatrical success of Michael – grossing more than $400 million worldwide – it’s obvious that moviegoers prefer the fantasy of Michael Jackson as opposed to the reality. Wisely, this current biopic chronicles Jackson’s life until 1988 – before any allegations surfaced – positioning it as a long overdue celebration of an artistic genius, chronicling his cultural impact on music, dance, even fashion.

Festivals Reviews

SWIPED (TIFF) – Review by Valerie Kalfrin

September 29, 2025June 11, 2026 Valerie Kalfrin Ben Schnetzer, biopic, Bumble, dan stevens, disney, hulu, Jackson White, Kim Carmele, Lily James, Rachel Lee Goldenberg, sexual harassment, Swiped, TIFF 2025, Tinder, Whitney Wolfe, workplace toxicity

The drama Swiped peeks behind the scenes of the dating app Tinder, where a bright young woman who helped launch its success finds she can’t “swipe left” on the misogyny and sexism. Unfortunately, viewers might want to “swipe left” on this film. In portraying the career of Whitney Wolfe Herd, who weathered a scandal after Tinder to become the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire, the film skims over a lot. It feels like flipping through several browser windows without reading them.

Festivals Reviews

SWIPED (TIFF 2025) – Review by Rachel West

September 16, 2025September 15, 2025 Rachel West Ben Schnetzer, biopic, Bumble, dan stevens, disney, hulu, Jackson White, Kim Carmele, Lily James, Rachel Lee Goldenberg, sexual harassment, Swiped, TIFF 2025, Tinder, Whitney Wolfe, workplace toxicity

Whitney Wolfe appeared to have it all. A smart, business-savvy young woman full of ideas who knew how to work a room full of tech bros to earn herself a place as Tinder’s lone female co-founder. It seems like a tech fairytale come true, full of female empowerment and triumph. But for Wolfe, it was more akin to a nightmare full of misogyny, toxic men, harassment, and sexism. Her story is the basis for the new film Swiped, directed by Rachel Lee Goldenberg and starring Lily James as the real-life Wolfe.

Movie of the Week

MOVIE OF THE WEEK May 9, 2025: LILLY

May 4, 2025May 3, 2025 Jennifer Merin betsy bozdech, biopic, Cate Marquis, equal pay, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co, jennifer merin, John Benjamin Hickey, leslie combemale, Lilly, Lilly Ledbetter, liz whittemore, loren king, nell minow, patricia clarkson, Rachel Feldman, ruth bader ginsberg, sandie angulo chen, sherin nicole, Thomas Sadoski

If the more unpleasant aspects of late-stage capitalism have you seeing red these days, Lilly isn’t likely to change your mind on that front. But Rachel Feldman‘s earnest biopic about the extremely determined Lilly Ledbetter (Patricia Clarkson), who fought long and hard in the name of ensuring equal pay for women, is a timely, meaningful reminder that one person truly can help to make a real difference when faced with injustice and discrimination.

Reviews

AUDREY’S CHILDREN – Review by Lois Alter Mark

March 20, 2025March 21, 2025 Lois Alter Mark Ami Canaan Mann, Audrey’s Children, biopic, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Evans Staging System, Mother of Neuroblastoma, natalie dormer, Ronald McDonald House

It’s always enlightening to learn about one of the many (many, many) unsung heroines of our times and Audrey’s Children, which introduces viewers to the visionary doctor behind the Ronald McDonald House, packs even more of a punch since it’s being released at a time when funding for pediatric cancer has been completely cut from the U.S. budget. The filmmakers could never have guessed this would happen and maybe, if enough people see their powerful movie, it will spark the kind of outrage needed to reverse that decision and Dr. Audrey Evans will have made yet another lifesaving contribution to the field.

Reviews

QUEEN OF THE RING – Review by Liz Braun

March 1, 2025March 1, 2025 Liz Braun Alston Ramsay, Ash Avildsen, biopic, Cara Buono, Emily Bett Rickards, Francesca Eastwood, Josh Lucas, Mildred Burke, Queen of The Ring, women's wrestling

Queen of The Ring is an old-fashioned biopic of women’s wrestling pioneer Mildred Burke. Turns out watching a woman get in the ring and grapple her way to independence (when it was still mostly illegal for women to do so) is an unexpected treat at the movies. Mildred Burke is acclaimed as the first female athlete who ever earned a million dollars — and, as the movie states, she did it all as a single mother. Queen of The Ring ends with fascinating photos and footage of the real-life female wrestling pioneers, and of Billy Wolfe and the male wrestling stars of the day. The film is full of knock-down fights (in the ring and otherwise) juicy confrontations and behind-the-scenes carry-on; the storytelling is energetic and engaging and not unlike a soap opera. We mean that in the best way.

Reviews

A COMPLETE UNKNOWN – Review by T.J. Callahan

December 23, 2024December 24, 2024 T. J. Callahan A Complete Unknown, biopic, bob dylan, Edward Norton, elle fanning, james mangold, Monica Barbaro, Phedon Papamichael, Robert Zimmerman, Scoot McNairy, timothee chalamet

A Complete Unknown is set in the early 1960’s and focuses on the meteoric rise of the multi-award winning Bob Dylan from his arrival in New York City as a 19 year old with just a guitar and a new name, to his landing at the hospital bedside of his hero, Woody Guthrie, to a chance introduction to stars Pete Seeger and Joan Baez and finally making a controversial choice to “go electric” that reverberated throughout the Monterey Folk Festival and beyond.

Reviews

A COMPLETE UNKNOWN – Review by Diane Carson

December 18, 2024December 18, 2024 Diane Carson A Complete Unknown, biopic, bob dylan, Edward Norton, elle fanning, james mangold, Monica Barbaro, Phedon Papamichael, Robert Zimmerman, Scoot McNairy, timothee chalamet

For many music lovers, both in the 60s and after, Bob Dylan provided one of the most important soundtracks to our lives. Count me among that group. It is gratifying, then, that director James Mangold relies primarily on Dylan’s songs to define him and his political environment in his biographical film, A Complete Unknown. With this as a strong, definitive, and informative framework, Mangold avoids formulaic pitfalls of the tired musical biopics while also capturing Dylan’s real appeal—atypical lyrics, his singular vocal delivery, and his, at best, brooding, conflicted presence in the spotlight. The impressive, actual singing of Timothée Chalamet as Dylan all but erases the differences between his and Dylan’s tentative, self-conscious façade.

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