Okay Oscar weekend is upon us and I don’t want to hear any more “there are no good roles for women” whining. Got me?
I think we can all agree that the film world isn’t perfect. The simple truth is that more of the movies that I want to see feature men in the starring roles, but that’s attributable to many factors, not the least of which is my personal taste in movies. I am not blind to certain realities, I just don’t want to hear any more complaining about it, okay? I’d rather we take a more constructive approach to the problem.
Two things I've learned: many talkies have their origin in books and too many producers can’t read. So, rather than moan about the lopsidedness of it all, I thought we could make a quick list of books that could be adapted with “interesting” (notice I didn’t say “strong”) roles for women to help them out. Those poor under-resourced producers.
These are film projects I’d like to see. My taste is pretty spectacular incidentally.
One of the best surprises of the last few years for me was Dope by Sara Gran about a woman in 1950s New York who’s kicked her heroin habit, but maintains a petty criminal lifestyle of shoplifting and small time graft to make a living. Her life changes when she’s hired by a wealthy couple to re-enter the drug underworld she clawed her way out of to find their teenaged daughter that has disappeared and, they fear, become an addict. It’s a tough, tense book with a lot of heart to break.
Recently I caught up on a great little book about the murder of a teenage girl that shakes up a small Ozark town, Dahlia's Gone by Katie Estill. This book has got at least three great roles for women – the Sheriff’s deputy working the case, the step-mother of the victim and the victim’s neighbor, through whose eyes the story is primarily told. I won’t go into the complexities of each character, you’ll have to read it yourself, but it’d make a great dramatic picture with terrific, lyrical dialogue already built in.
Theresa Schwegel wrote a fierce debut novel, Officer Down about a rookie female cop in Chicago and the royal mess her already less than tidy life becomes when her partner is killed in a possible friendly fire episode. As big a fan I am of (Oscar Nom) Kathryn Bigelow, I'd love to see her tackle this one. Though she visited similar (just barely really) territory in Blue Steel, I guarantee this one'd be better. A lot better.
Megan Abbott has written several great novels, so far all period pieces that evoke the tones and themes of classic Film Noir, but I’d say Queenpin is the most readily adaptable to film. It’s the story of a bright and ambitious girl who gets a job keeping the books for a local syndicate and latches on to a mentor who is much more than just another mol. She could have it all if she's careful. Think she is?
Last year introduced Stella Hardesty, a character that it seems almost inconceivable will not become the anchor of a wildly popular series, in Sophie Littlefield's A Bad Day for Sorry. After killing her abusive husband with a wrench, at the mid-century mark, Stella finds her services suddenly in demand. Could she maybe help some other abused women solve their problems? Look for the next Stella Hardesty title A Bad Day for Pretty in June.
And for the really adventurous, I propose the dark, sexy riff on the legacy of James M. Cain, Miami Purity by Vicki Hendricks. This one calls for a really gutsy actress, but the pay off could be huge.
And now I’ve done my part. How about you? What books would you like to see made into films?
