In June 2014, director Alex Lightman produced his first feature film, 'Tear Me Apart'. Acutely aware that they only had one speaking female role, they knew how important research would be…
In May 2013 a couple of friends – screenwriter Tom Kerevan and Cinematographer Ernesto Herrmann and I – made the somewhat snap decision to take the plunge and produce a feature film ourselves. The idea for the film, Tear Me Apart, emerged in the space of five minutes over a cup of coffee. Tom had access to post-apocalyptic cinematic locations in Cornwall, I liked the idea of exploring survivalist characters within this world, and Ern wanted to spread the love. So there we had it: a post-apocalyptic cannibal love story set in Cornwall. Oh and all the women have died out. Apart from one…
“Three blokes making a film with only one female character?!” I hear you cry. We know… which is why we needed to write a character that could carry the weight of the entire female population on their shoulders.
So what did we do? We sat down and watched as many films as we could with female leads. Despite our film not having one comedic moment in it, we discovered that female-led comedies often have the most interesting, well-developed and engaging characters across any genre.
So here’s a list of our top eight comedies with female leads…
8. 'Ghost World' – Ghost World is the debut feature film of director Terry Zwigoff starring Thora Birch and Scarlett Johansson. Based on the comic book of the same name by Daniel Clowes, Ghost World shows us of the agony of adolescence whilst never losing its sense of humour. The great thing about this film is in the lead embodying a balanced microcosm of a universal experience.
7. 'Tiny Furniture' – Before 'Girls', Lena Dunham won the Best Narrative Feature at the 2010 South by Southwest Film Festival with the story of Aura, a university graduate with no real prospects who returns home to live with her mother while she figures out what to do with her life (sound familiar?) The film has an uncanny ability to take a universal and familiar predicament and translate it into a single individual’s story in a relatable way.
6. 'Death Proof' – One half of the ill-fated Grindhouse double feature-movie concocted by Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino, we’re not sure it was meant to be an out-and-out comedy but this B-Movie homage stars a kick-ass female ensemble cast being, well, kick-ass. The film showed us that you don’t have to be hyped up on steroids to be epic.
5. 'Fargo' – A pregnant police chief is investigating a series of homicides across the frozen tundra. And she couldn’t be more awesome. This black comedy from the Coen Brothers is considered a seminal piece of modern story-telling for good reason. But beyond the obvious, Frances McDormand shares the protagonist role with selfish and delusional husband William H Macy, elevating this all-round impeccable movie into 90 minutes that are worth watching again and again. Particularly if you potentially have a male and female lead fighting for superiority.
4. 'Amelie' – This French classic tells the story of Amelie played by Audrey Tautou as she decides on a course of philanthropy by changing the lives of the people she knows. A charming and highly stylised rom-com fantasy from director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, the movie allows the often surreal realism of the dynamic lead to exude from every second of this masterpiece. Amelie displays both huge vulnerability and unrivalled strength, making her one of the most engaging and relatable young female leads in recent memory.
3. 'Bridesmaids' – Annie (Kristen Wiig) stumbles her way through the wedding of her best friend with an ensemble cast of colourful bridesmaids. Comic timing and outright chaos galore, this is a hell-raiser of a comedy that celebrates feminism as much as it guffaws at it. What’s impressive is that Judd Apatow was not afraid to go there and as a result created a film I’m envious of: everyone has their own favourite scene.
2. 'Legally Blonde' – With a sequel and even a stage musical spin off this is the story of Elle Woods, played by Reese Witherspoon, overcoming and subverting stereotypes to pull off the seemingly impossible – get into Harvard Law School. Perhaps you’re thinking it’s bizarre this is so high up our list, but the structural perfection of this story is second to none, as is the progression of Elle’s character, both in terms of realization of inner strength and externalizing her enormous change. A master-class in character pacing and dramatization.
1. 'Juno' – When a teenage girl (Ellen Page) is faced with an unplanned pregnancy, she enlists the aid of the unsuspecting father and best friend (Michael Cera) in finding the unborn child a suitable home. Jason Reitman and writer Diablo Cody strike the perfect balance between addressing very real, very big issues, and allowing the characters to make light of their situation. Not only is this a poignant coming-of-age comedy drama, but the subtlety of how it deals with big subject matter without being preachy, warrants and hugely rewards repeat viewings.
I think the most important thing we’ve learnt is that whatever genre you’re working in, don’t be confined to that genre alone when it comes to research. And don’t ignore the many rich, diverse and quite brilliant characters that have emerged from comedy films.
Alex Lightman is a director and producer. His debut feature film 'Tear Me Apart', made with Cannibal Films, was shot in June 2014 on location in North Cornwall. It is currently in post-production, scheduled for completion early 2015.
See more guest blogs from the team on how they made the movie and what they learnt at cannibalfilms.co.uk of follow them @CannibalFilms or like them Facebook.com/TearMeApartMovie
Pictures: Audrey Tautou in 'Amelie'; Ellen Page in 'Juno'; 'Tear Me Apart' movie poster
