Movie Review – I’m Your Woman – Amazon Original – 2020 – Nice and Steady
Table of Contents
My Rating – 3.5 out of 5
Plot Summary – I’m Your Woman
I came across this movie while casually browsing through Amazon Prime, and though the cast sounded largely unfamiliar, the director Julia Hart (of Fast Color, Miss Stevens, and Stargirl fame) was familiar and the plotline sounded interesting, so I jumped in. And in the end, I’m glad that I did, this is a solid movie, made with a lot of heart. The setting is the 1970’s and a lot of Blues, some Country, etc. pepper the soundtrack and lends a lot of character to the movie!
Jean: Eddie and Jean met and fell in love. Eddie and Jean got married and bought a house. Eddie and Jean were gonna have a kid but didn’t. So, every morning, Eddie kisses Jean, Eddie leaves the house, and Jean’s alone.
Rachel from I’m Your Woman
Rachel Brosnahan plays Jean, a timid childless wife of Eddie (Bill Heck) – whose occupation, being a bit shrouded in mystery, keeps a rather strange company and stays away from home frequently. Jean is the pliant wife here, who doesn’t know much about her husband’s career and just floats along. One fine day, Eddie walks into the house with an infant in his arms, calls him Harry, and plants him onto Jean – without any explanation as to where he’s got Harry from! Like the truly devoted wife that Jean is, she accepts the child as her own and mothers him as normal.
At this point, while Eddie is on another one of his overnighters, his colleague Jimmy (Jarrod DiGiorgi) rushes in, packs off Jean and her baby with another colleague Cal (Arinze Kene) as her protector and guide. Her queries regarding Eddie’s whereabouts and the reason behind this unexplained hasty departure are steadily stonewalled by both men and Jean has little option other than to follow Cal around. During their longish road trip to a safe house, they come across their fair share of challenges, including being accosted by a white cop who refused to believe that these two are married, only because the man in question (Cal) is Black!
The safe house doesn’t turn out to be that safe either and the two are forced to be again on the run. They finally take shelter in Cal’s home, along with Cal’s wife Teri (Marsha Stephanie Blake), son Paul (De’Mauri Parks), and father Art (Frankie Faison) who give Jean comfortable shelter, along with a valuable life lesson. What it is to be a person of color, however socially respectable they may be, compared to even trashy white people. Mind you, this is set in the ’70’s, even the political correctness of today was far from evident then.
Conclusion – Movie Review of I’m Your Woman
Any further delving into the story would give away crucial plot lines and thus be a spoiler, so suffice it to say that this is effectively heartwarming and might even warm the cockles of a stonier heart than mine! Everyone puts in a solid performance, especially Rachel, Arinze, and Marsha. The Aretha Franklin and Bobbie Gentry tracks in the background are a very pleasant bonus! Julia Hart puts in a lot of heart and effort, and it clearly shows. She makes a statement, without seeming to make any, by capturing the growth in stature of a timid wife and mother into a plucky and strong woman.
She eschews the temptation of turning this into a feminist declaration or the jarring and cliched evolution of a superwoman, all the while silently building the inner steel and character of Jean without any melodrama like it could happen in real life. In this dignified and silent evolution, lies the strength and beauty of this movie. To sum it all off, watch ‘I’m Your Woman’, it’s gonna leave you impressed!
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