A film where the central thesis—that visual language in cinema, primarily shot composition, both perpetuates and is produced by patriarchal ways of seeing women that contribute to the mainstream cinema industry’s excess of economic discrimination against women and sexual assault against women—is obviously and inarguably true but the presentation of that thesis severely hampers the power of the film. Rather than a recorded lecture, this would work better as a montage piece, allowing the juxtapositions and repeated cinematic structures speak for themselves. There’s a lack of confidence in how the film uses ominous music to direct the audience and several examples are more nuanced than Menkes allows.
film reviews as long as the films
20969 words / mins total