Picks of the Week is Women and Hollywood‘s newest resource. W&H writers are often asked for recommendations, so each week they’ll spotlight the women-driven and women-made projects—movies, series, VOD releases and more—that they’re most excited about. (Sign up for the Women and Hollywood newsletter at womenandhollywood.com to get each week’s picks delivered to your inbox!)
Series of the Week: “Killing Eve”
Created by Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Set in the immediate aftermath of the first season’s cliffhanger ending, thev sophomore outing of “Killer Eve” sees Villanelle (Jodie Comer) weakened after being stabbed by Eve (Sandra Oh). The international assassin remains as resourceful, cunning and enthralling as ever. (As if a mere knife wound could ever keep her down.)
Led by new showrunner Emerald Fennell, the second season of the critically-acclaimed BBC America series digs deeper into Eve and Villanelle’s dysfunctional, ever-evolving relationship.
“Why are you and Villanelle so interested in each other?” Eve’s boss (Fiona Shaw) asks. Eve is still figuring out the answer to that question herself. She remains so fixated on the object of her obsession that she continues to shut out her husband and commit herself fully to the pursuit of Villanelle—though it’s unclear what exactly she’ll want to do with her the next time they cross paths. (Laura Berger)
“Killing Eve” returns April 7. It will be simulcast on AMC and BBC America at 8 p.m. EST.
Wild Ride of the Week: High Life
Directed by Claire Denis; Written by Claire Denis, Jean-Pol Fargeau and Geoff Cox
Claire Denis is a unique director, and High Life, her first English film, is not for the faint of heart. It takes place on a spaceship full of convicts, on a mission to nowhere led by Robert Pattinson. Juliette Binoche plays a doctor who’s sexually experimenting on the convicts.
The whole film is a wild ride, and I took that ride. It makes you think about what it means to be human, what it means to be free and lots of other deeply relatable questions we ponder on an ongoing basis. (Melissa Silverstein)
High Life opens in NY and LA April 5. It will expand to other select cities beginning April 11. Find screening info here.
Feature of the Week: The Wind
Directed by Emma Tammi; Written by Teresa Sutherland
Demons are everywhere in The Wind—although it’s unclear whether they’re of the religious or internal variety. Emma Tammi’s solo directorial debut follows Lizzy Macklin (Caitlin Gerard), a tough, no-nonsense frontierswoman living in (near) isolation. Her husband is often away on long treks to town and their only neighbor moved after the tragic death of his wife. Even for an independent, strong-willed person like Lizzy, the solitude can be overwhelming.
The Western-horror pic’s story is told non-linearly. Frequent flashbacks and quick cuts put us in Lizzy’s disoriented, anxious state of mind. As she waits for her husband to return, memories of their life together on the prairie come flooding back along with their fraught relationship with their neighbors, including the glamorous, doomed Emma (Julia Goldani Telles). Besides the relentlessly howling wind, there’s nothing to distract Lizzy from her insecurities about her marriage and the freaky things that keep happening on the homestead. (Hint: Like The Witch before it, this film features a possibly-supernatural goat.)
Similar to The Others as well, The Wind focuses on the horror of essentially being trapped at home alone. Something is definitely haunting Lizzy—an actual monster, her own mind or both—and the constant, monotonous isolation isn’t helping matters.
The Wind not only delivers on the thrills, but also deftly suggests that a woman’s place is not always in the house. (Rachel Montpelier)
The Wind opens in select theaters and launches on VOD April 5.
