Jean only wants a peaceful life, but “I’m Your Woman” finds her realizing that such lofty goals require more than waiting for them to be fulfilled. Eventually, “I’m Your Woman” reveals itself as a clever refashioning of lost souls chasing the American dream, trapped by the paranoia of losing it all. Jean finds herself huddling in the woods alongside Cal’s family, including his no-bullshit wife Teri (Marsha Stephanie Blake), whose ties to Jean’s husband bring additional clarity to her conundrum. “I’m Your Woman” has more sophisticated intentions. At first, the movie seems headed for a “True Romance” type of hybrid: As Jean bonds with Cal at a late-night diner, it seems as if her hired protector might replace the man who left her behind. While hinting at a much bigger world, “I’m Your Woman” unfolds in fragments of small exchanges and Brosnahan anchors every scene. Most of the villains in “I’m Your Woman” are abstract caricatures, Tarantinoesque goons who serve little purpose beyond ratcheting the danger quotient at key moments, but they’re momentary distractions in a movie rooted in the peculiar nature of Jean’s identity crisis. She does, careening through a series of safe houses and evading various murderous goons intent on using her to track down her husband.īy now, it should be clear that “I’m Your Woman” has much less to do with Eddie than his wife, and the unknown details of his life. With no context for the exchange, the movie hovers in the uncertainty of their dynamic and later doubles back to explain it.įor now, it’s enough to set the gears moving: When Eddie - whose shady career remains a secret to his wife - goes missing, a frantic gunslinger named Cal (Arinzé Kene) shows up to explain why she and her adopted infant must go on the lam. When Eddie (Bill Heck) suddenly shows up at his palatial home with a baby and hands it to his wife Jean (Brosnahan), she accepts it without question. The opening minutes of “I’m Your Woman” suggest a very different experience - an eerie melodrama with stirrings of “Rosemary’s Baby” more than the feminist genre effort to come. ‘The Boys in the Boat’ Review: George Clooney’s Inspirational Crew Drama Is Too Hokey to Stay Afloat A slow-burn crime saga doused in intrigue, “I’m Your Woman” compensates for a creaky first act with the payoff that follows. And like the lo-fi superhero drama “Fast Color,” its heroine goes on the lam before she truly understands what’s chasing her, and why she’s better off confronting it head on. Like her breakout Civil War script “The Keeping Room,” it finds women trapped in a man’s world, and forced to resort to violence as a means of escape. “I’m Your Woman” owes much to Brosnahan’s evolving performance as she goes from terrified housewife to trenchant survivalist over the course movie, and the movie consolidates the strengths of Hart’s previous work. By the time you realize the kind of movie you’re watching, it’s already a few steps ahead. The full picture may amount to a contrived gangster story, but Hart (who scripted with her partner Jordan Horowitz) approaches that formula from the inside out. Director Julia Hart’s fourth feature pairs an engrossing turn from Rachel Brosnahan with a tense ‘70s-set script constructed with jigsaw precision. You’ll be halfway through “I’m Your Woman” before its premise is clear, but the mystery is as gripping as its payoff. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Amazon Studios will release it in select theaters on Friday, December 4, with a streaming premiere to follow on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, December 11. Editor’s note: This review was originally published at the 2020 AFI FEST Film Festival.
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