In honor of Women’s History Month, we are celebrating with movies and television shows featuring strong female protagonists. They make us laugh, cry, and feel proud. Sometimes they make us ashamed because we live in a society that allowed/allows human beings to be treated as lesser than because of their gender.
Five of our streaming pics are based on true stories.
The Six Triple Eight – this war drama, written and directed by Tyler Perry, tells the true story of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, an all-black, all females battalion in World War II. The ensemble cast stars Kerry Washington, Ebony Obsidian, Milauna Jackson, Shanice Shantay, Sarah Jeffrey, Pepi Sonuga, Gregg Sulkin, Susan Sarandon, Oprah Winfrey, Dean Norris, and Sam Waterston. The 6888 Battalion trained with distinction, but were not deployed overseas until an impossible assignment became available. The soldiers were tasked with clearing the backlog of undelivered letters and care packages created by the military’s decision to prioritize delivering supplies over mail. The battalion travels by ship to Glasgow, Scotland, where the soldiers are left at a dilapidated boarding school. Their official orders are to create suitable living quarters and sort the backlog of mail in six months. Several other units failed, and they are expected to fail. Can they succeed? Available on Netflix
Wicked Little Letters is a comedy based on real life events in England in 1920. Edith Swan (Olivia Colman) is a devout Christian who becomes the target of profanity laced hate mail much to the chagrin of her overbearing, controlling father and her gentle mother. They suspect their neighbor Rose Gooding (Jessie Buckley) a single mother from Ireland who often swears and speaks her mind. Rose is arrested, but Officer Gladys Moss doubts she is guilty. Moss risks losing her job to find the truth. Available on Netflix
It Ends with Us – based on the novel by Colleen Hoover. Lily Bloom (Blake Lively) grows up witnessing her mother being abused by her father. In high school she befriends a classmate, Atlas (Brandon Sklenar) from an abusive home. Atlas finds his way out by joining the Army. Lily works hard to fulfill her dreams of opening her own flower shop and putting the past behind her. When she meets Ryle (Justin Baldoni) a dashing young surgeon, she ignores the similarities between her parent’s relationship and their relationship. Lily does her best to sidestep any issues until a chance meeting with Atlas brings her and Ryle’s relationship to the tipping point. It’s a touching story about a woman’s determination to end the cycle of abuse so many people have experienced. Available on Netflix
Enola Holmes and Enola Holmes 2 – Milly Bobby Brown stars as Enola Holmes the much younger sister of Mycroft (Sam Clafin) and Sherlock Holmes (Henry Cavill). Helena Bonham Carter plays the eccentric feminist matriarch of the family. In the first movie, Enola is left alone when her mother disappears. Enola runs away and becomes involved in a mystery concerning the young Lord Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge). Mycroft finds her and sends her to a “finishing” school. She runs away again with the help of Tewkesbury and proceeds to solve a mystery that baffles even her brother Sherlock. In the second movie, Enola is trying to support herself as a detective. Sherlock is now her guardian, so he is a little more involved in the story. Enola accepts a case involving the disappearance of a worker from a match factory where girls and women have been disappearing. Tewkesbury and Enola’s mother are also involved in the action. Historic events in British history are woven into both movies. Available on Netflix.
Persuasion – no list of strong female protagonists would be complete without one of Jane Austen’s ladies. Anne Elliot (Dakota Johnson) and Frederick Wentworth (Cosmo Jarvis) were in love, but Anne was persuaded by her family to decline his marriage proposal because of his limited financial prospects. Anne instantly regrets her decision and pines for the one that got away. When he suddenly reappears, is it too late? It’s an interesting look at the importance of marriage at a time when most women could not inherit family homes or businesses and were dependent on husbands, or the generosity of male family members for financial support. Available on Netflix.
Elsbeth – Elsbeth Tascioni (Carrie Preston) is an unconventional, eccentric, but brilliant attorney assigned to the NYPD as a consultant to make sure it follows proper legal procedures while investigating crimes. She’s a mix between Adrian Monk and Columbo with a dash od Elle woods thrown in. Elsbeth is on CBS and is available on Hulu. It’s been renewed for a third season.
Bridget Jones 4: Mad About the Boy – Bridget Jones (Renee Zellweger) is back, but not how you expect her. She’s a widowed mother of two still mourning the loss of her husband Mark Darcy (Colin Firth). Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) is also back. After four years, Bridget decides it’s time to get back to work and back to life. She tries her luck with a younger man, but she’s also strangely draw to the science teacher at her kid’s school. Plenty of Bridget style laughs, but there is a something truly heartfelt about the way Mark Darcy is loved, mourned, and honored as a husband, father, and friend. Available on Peacock.
Maria – Famed opera singer Maria Callas (Angelina Jolie) retreats to Paris after her glamourous, but troubled life in the public eye. Callas attempts to resume her singing career after some health issues. The story covers the seven days before her death in 1977.
On The Basis Of Sex – Ruth Bader Ginsberg (Felicity Jones) is a first-year student at Harvard Law School. Her husband Martin (Armie Hammer) is in his second year. When Martin is diagnosed with cancer, Ruth becomes his caregiver while remaining in school, caring for their infant daughter, and attending lectures for him taking notes, so he can keep up. After Martin graduates, he’s hired by a New York Law firm. Despite graduating at the top of her class a year later, she struggles to find a position because none of the New York firms she applies to wants to hire a woman. Ruth takes a job at Rutgers Law School teaching “Sex Discrimination and the Law.” Ruth goes on to establish a successful legal career by applying the principles of law equally to all genders. Oddly enough it’s a case involving tax law that gives her that big win.