My Favourite Female Characters in Film!

Today is International Women’s Day and seeing as I know nothing about feminism, gender equality or anything of that sort I’d talk about my favourite female leading characters. They’re not going to be characters that are strong because they kill lots of people (Kill Bill) but strong because they’re somewhat average and through courageous efforts go through hardships for a good cause.

Also, I’ve bought Belle on Blu-ray and I’m prediction the character Belle would most probably make this list if I had actually gotten around to seeing it.

Meg Altman – Panic Room

Jodie Foster’s first and not her last time to feature on this list. A seriously underrated and under seen movie, Panic Room is about Meg (Foster) who has to take refuge in her own home with her daughter Sarah (Kirsten Stewart) when three burglars break in searching for a fortune. Through Fosters performance and David Fincher’s tense direction you really get the sense of how far a parent would go to protect her child.

Mercedes – Pans Labyrinth

There are plenty of strong female characters in Guillermo Del Toro’s 2006 fantasy epic Pans Labyrinth such as Carmen the mother and young Ofelia but the character that stands out to me the most is Mercedes played by Maribel Verdú. Those who have seen it would know what I mean. She’s a tough no nonsense character who stands against those who are stronger than her. She’s really one of those characters who doesn’t ask for the things she has to go through and is merely thrust into the horrible situation; unlike my next pick…

Clarice Starling – The Silence of the Lambs

Told you Jodie Foster would be on the list again. Probably the most clichéd pick on my list, Clarice Starling is the FBI recruit on her first case, the infamous Buffalo Bill and she enlists the help of the psychiatrist Dr. Hannibal Lecter, who just happens to also be a cannibal. Whenever people talk about The Silence of the Lambs they always talk about how good Anthony Hopkins was even though he only appears in the film for 16 of the 118 minutes of the movie. Foster carries the movie on her shoulders and plays a character that’s young, tough and ready for action. The action she gets though is more than she first bargained for. Definitely up there as one of the great tough heroines.

The Wicked Witch of the West – The Wizard of Oz

This might seem an odd pick to most but think about it. In The Wizard of Oz the wicked witch of the west enters on the scene of the death of her younger sister. The one prized possession her sister would want her to have is stolen for no reason at all and every attempt to get back what’s hers is thwarted with singing, dancing and snow! Then she’s killed with a bucket full of WATER! Okay there’s a little more to it than that and I maybe giving her less credibility as a villain as I’ve just seen Wicked where the character is cast in a whole different light. Brought to life by Margaret Hamilton in 1939, the wicked witch has been haunting children’s (and mine) nightmares for more than 75 years. She’s a terrifically terrifying and a great female villain.

Amelia – The Babadook

Much like Meg in Panic Room we have a mother who will do anything to save her child. But how do you save your child from yourself? I’ve said it a million times Essie Davis is absolutely brilliant in her portrayal of Amelia in The Babadook, who goes through some terrifying and traumatic events in her own home. The relationship Amelia has with her son is complex, frustrating and full of love and it’s that love that runs through the movie and through the character.

Laura – The Orphanage

To finish the list is the second Spanish movie and the fifth horror movie (yes I classed The Wizard of Oz as horror… Margaret Hamilton is terrifying). Starring in the leading role of Laura is Belén Rueda. Laura is a mother who brings her family to her childhood home where her son makes an imaginary friend and scary things ensue. This one is less on the character and more on the performance of Rueda who is brilliant in the leading role and what a shame it is I’ve not seen her in anything else.