catherine hardwicke – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

PRISONER’S DAUGHTER – Review by Liz Braun

June 19, 2023June 19, 2023 Liz Braun Brian Cox, catherine hardwicke, Christopher Convery, Ernie Hudson, kate beckinsale, Prisoner's Daughter, Tyson Ritter

Catherine Hardwicke directs Brian Cox and Kate Beckinsale in Prisoner’s Daughter, a drama about family and second chances. The two leads alone should make you prick up your ears, but the movie, alas, is sunk by an overwrought screenplay. The story moves toward a burst of violence that upends everything that went before it, and that’s enough said about that. May we suggest that with a couple of exceptions — Mike Leigh, Todd Haynes, Ned Benson, maybe —men should not write domestic drama. Much has already been said about the lack of directing roles (and opportunity in general) for women in Hollywood. It seems a double shame that filmmaker Catherine Hardwicke and this excellent cast were all squandered on weak material.

News

WEEK IN WOMEN: Vertical to release Catherine Hardwicke’s PRISONER’S DAUGHTER – Brandy McDonnell reports

June 14, 2023June 18, 2023 Brandy McDonnell Brian Cox, catherine hardwicke, kate beckensale, risoner's daughter, the week in women, twiw, vertical releasing

Vertical will release Catherine Hardwicke’s film Prisoner’s Daughter, which made its world premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival in Canada, in theaters on June 30. With a screenplay penned by Mark Bacci, the film is described as a gritty, emotionally turbulent thriller that follows a father recently released from prison who seeks to reconnect with his estranged daughter and the grandson he’s never known. The film stars SAG and Gotham Award-nominated Kate Beckinsale and Golden Globe winner and Emmy-nominated performer Brian Cox.

Reviews

MAFIA MAMMA – Review by T.J. Callahan

April 10, 2023April 15, 2023 T. J. Callahan catherine hardwicke, Eduardo Scarpetta, Giulio Corso, mafia mamma, monica bellucci, Toni Collette

Mafia Mamma is an action/comedy based on an original story written by a woman, directed be a woman, starring a woman and meant to empower women, but for all the wrong reasons. The always wonderful and insightful Toni Collette is Kristin, a people pleasing suburban helicopter mom who puts everyone else first, so when she unexpectedly inherits her estranged grandfather’s mafia empire in Italy, it’s her chance to do something for herself.

Reviews

MAFIA MAMMA – Review by Valerie Kalfrin

April 8, 2023April 8, 2023 Valerie Kalfrin catherine hardwicke, Eduardo Scarpetta, Giulio Corso, mafia mamma, monica bellucci, Toni Collette

The game-for-anything Toni Collette inherits a mafia clan in Mafia Mamma, an uneven comedy where the jokes and the tone are as scattershot as some characters’ aim. Collette plays Kristin, a suburban mom and pitchwoman for pharmaceutical products whose sexist boss prefers marketing erectile dysfunction products than hair treatments for cancer patients. She’s dealing with troubles at home, including a cheating husband, when she’s summoned to Italy to settle the affairs of her grandfather.

Reviews

TELL IT LIKE A WOMAN – Review by Jennifer Green

February 21, 2023February 21, 2023 Jennifer Green Anne Watanabe, Cara Delevingne, catherine hardwicke, compilation, Diane Warren, Eva Longoria, Jacqueline Fernandez, jennifer hudson, Lucia Puenzo, marcia gay harden, margherita Buy, Maria Sole Tognazzi, Mipo Oh, taraji p. henson, Tell It Like a Woman, We Do It Together

Marketed around its concept of stories by and about women, this compilation of shorts was co-produced by the non-profit organization We Do It Together, which promotes gender parity in film and media. The stories mostly revolve around women in crisis, which provides narrative drama but doesn’t feel universal or representative of women’s lives in general. While there’s plenty of diversity across the shorts in terms of race, ethnicity and nationality, the focus begs the question of why the film didn’t opt for more diversity in stories and tone. Being a woman doesn’t have to mean overcoming constant crises, does it?

Festivals Reviews

PRISONER’S DAUGHTER (TIFF 2022) – Review by Ulkar Alakbarova

September 13, 2022September 17, 2022 Ulkar Alakbarova Brian Cox, catherine hardwicke, kate beckinsale, Prisoner's Daughter, TIFF 2022, toronto international film festival

When you read the synopsis about a man who is being released from prison on grounds of compassion, you think it’s going to be another action film in which an elderly man must fight his past enemies. It is the first thing that comes to a mind once you hear about Prisoner’s Daughter. However, the moment the film starts, it takes a different turn, a surprising one. With screenplay by Mark Bacci and directed by Catherine Hardwicke, Prisoner’s Daughter is a feel good story.

News

DuVernay and Jenks get Funko Pops, per AWFJ’s Suggestion! Yes!!! – Jennifer Merin reports

April 29, 2020May 3, 2020 Jennifer Merin 0 Comments agnes varda, Ava DuVernay, catherine hardwicke, comic con, female film directors, funko pops, leslie combemale, movie memorabilia, Patty Jenkins

There’s no way to know how much, if any, Funko’s introduction of Female Film Director Pops was influenced by Leslie Combemale’s essay for AWFJ.org in 2018, but in March, 2020, Funko introduced it’s Ava DuVernay Pop. The Patty Jenkins Pop followed in April.

SPOTLIGHT

SPOTLIGHT November 2018: Catherine Hardwicke, Blockbuster Indie Filmmaker and Activist

November 4, 2018November 4, 2018 Alexandra Heller-Nicholas 0 Comments catherine hardwicke, nativity story, plush, red riding hood, thriteen, twilight

This year marks a number of significant anniversaries for filmmaker Catherine Hardwicke, one of the most well-known and hardworking women directors in the business. 2018 marks both the 15th anniversary of the release of her debut film Thirteen and – in November – the 10th anniversary of one of the hugely successful supernatural romance blockbuster Twilight, granting a perfect reason to focus on Hardwicke’s career more broadly as this month’s Spotlight.

News

WEEK IN WOMEN: Catherine Hardwicke says ‘there’s still a lot of work to do’ to bring gender parity to Hollywood – Brandy McDonnell reports

October 16, 2018October 16, 2018 Brandy McDonnell 0 Comments catherine hardwicke, gender parity, student academy awards, the week in women, twiw

A decade after Catherine Hardwicke shattered records for female directors with the global success of the fantasy franchise-launching romantic drama “Twilight,” the director says there’s still not enough women working behind the camera. “we’ve got to get more representation in all the categories,” Hardwicke commented at the 45th Student Academy Awards ceremony at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

Commentaries

From Comic-Con: #FemaleFilmmakerFunko for #FemaleFilmmakerFriday — Leslie Combemale comments

July 26, 2018April 30, 2020 Leslie Combemale 0 Comments angnes varda, ava duverny, catherine hardwicke, female directors, funko pops, Patty Jenkins, sanddiego comic con

As an avid supporter of women in film, producing the annual Women Rocking Hollywoodpanel at Comic-Con is the highlight of my professional year, especially because I’ve found Comic-Con to be receptive and progressive about recognizing women in film. Comic-Con has pushed me to become a better critic and a bigger fan. Over the years, I’ve become an obsessive collector of Funko Pops, those wonderful figures that memorialize the movie icons I love. Continue reading…

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