Girly-Tough Ain't Enough

In 'Million Dollar Baby' the grizzled boxing trainer, Frankie Dunn, played by Clint Eastwood, tells the plucky wannabe Maggie, played by Hilary Swank, 'Girly-Tough ain't enough'. I always loved that line. Maggie has a searing desire to become a boxer but her drive is based on emotionality -- a need to become something and find value as a person -- not so much the desire to pound the crap out of the opponent in the ring. Frankie wants less emotionality and more brass tacks true grit.

It may not be good enough for female characters to be emotionally tough anymore. They may have to tough in a fight (with a man) even if that means levelling the playing field in any manner or with any technique they see fit.

Angelina Jolie's Evelyn Salt is tough in a way that's less touchy-feely and more baseline 'fuck with me and I'll burn your ass' and she proves it again and again at the drop of a hat. Most men would not want to tangle with her.

There is a similar vibe from Noomi Rapace in the 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' and possibly more so in 'The Girl Who Played with Fire'. The female protagonist in the 2010 remake of 'I Spit on Your Grave' is a far cry from 'girly-tough'.

These women don't hesitate to fight with a man. This could be the new standard for female action stars.

A couple quotes in Ann Hornaday's Washington Post write-up on the upcoming 'Salt' caught my eye, especially producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura's comparison of Angelina Jolie to Steve McQueen:

"I don't think a hero is male or female. I think it's actually non-gender-specific," says "Salt" producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura. "Every action beat [Jolie] takes, every critical decision she makes . . . a guy's going to do the same thing as she does. She's going to bring her own skill set the same way a guy would bring his own skill set.

But fundamentally the actions are the same. I think that's where the breakthrough is -- that we can stop saying 'female action' or 'male action,' we'll just say 'action star.' I think she's really, in a way, gone beyond gender."

Di Bonaventura compares Jolie to Steve McQueen in the way she combines her athleticism and acting ability:

"Steve McQueen wasn't a big guy. She's not a big girl. He wasn't pumped up. She's not pumped up. But you believed Steve McQueen was going to kick whoever's ass it was. And you believe she can kick whoever's ass it is. And that's attitude, not physicality."

I hadn't thought of that. It's true. McQueen wasn't a brawny guy at all but nobody would doubt he could hold his ground in a fight -- he's got that glare. And, Jolie has no problem convincing us she could bash your face in and best any man (she may have invented the glare for women).

I can't think of another female actor who has that kind of energy. I just don't see Linda Hamilton, buffed up though she may have been in 'Terminator', being believable winning an all out fistfight with a man. Sigourney Weaver's character in 'Alien' lost a fight with a man -- although 'he' was a machine. Neither Weaver or Hamilton (or any other female actor I can think of) portrayed an intimidating character then the way Angelina Jolie does now.

We've come a long way since the days when toughness in female characters was mainly reflected by their dialogue. A tough-talking Angie Dickinson comes to mind.

Here's another clip from Hornaday's piece:

When the writers made Salt a woman, Jolie explains, "the instinct would be . . . to make it softer, and instead we decided it had to be meaner. She had to fight dirty and darker because that's what you'd have to do to win against a man who's much bigger than you."

In one of the getaway sequences, Evelyn Salt is portrayed as driving a cop car by shocking the (unconscious) police officer in the driver's seat with a taser -- creating reflex actions that work the pedals, and steering wheel, etc. That kind of thing would be reprehensible for a male character -- definitely hitting below the belt -- but acceptable from Jolie's character for the reasons she cites. A woman would have to fight dirty to overcome the strength difference with a man.

So, Evelyn Salt is grittier both emotionally and physically than, say, Matt Damon's Jason Bourne or Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt.

For me, it's a welcome change. For me, in movies, girly-tough ain't nearly enough.

Hitting The Target

There’s a certain kind of movie I really like. It clicks along with lots of energy, turns on a dime, and has visual panache. Director Antoine Fuqua produces this kind of work. In ‘Training Day’, starring Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke, every scene is shot with an easy confidence that is direct as well interesting and fresh. Fuqua’s camera is never quite where you expect it to be, and this yields a visual pop and drive missing in many films of the genre. The story isn’t fluff either -- each scene in 'Training Day' builds dramatic tension through Act II, and character arc rolls out well with a strong resolution in Act III.

The projects Mark Wahlberg chooses have solid story and clean lines. ‘The Italian Job’, starring Wahlberg and directed by F. Gary Gray, spins out with clean energy and visual snap, and has car chases that are of reference quality. The sequel, ‘The Brazilian Job’, due in 2008, is getting good buzz and will be a must-own DVD. Wahlberg has, somewhat against the odds, become a go-to action headliner, playing the everyman who (somewhat against the odds) wins out in tough situations in ways audiences can connect with.

Lorenzo Di Bonaventura has similar tastes in movies. He shepherds projects that have a straight-ahead energy like ‘The Matrix’, ‘The Perfect Storm’, and ‘The Departed’. Each one of these stories is a good example of ‘painting your protag into a corner’ and forcing them to find a way out. These plots propel their characters headlong toward an unambiguous fate, and leaves audiences satisfied.

Di Bonaventura, Wahlberg, and Fuqua are the team behind the new thriller, ‘Shooter’, which opened this week. Wahlberg plays a Marine sniper who is enlisted to advise how an assassination of the president might be attempted from a range of over a mile. However, he finds himself on the run after the president is killed and he is framed for the shooting. The trailers I've seen have that live camera you expect from Fuqua and the story seems solid. This should do fairly well at the box office, and have excellent DVD sales.

Having a main character who is so talented with a rifle he can hit a target a mile away seems apt for these three filmmakers. Their talent for storytelling has the same kind of precision.

Di Bonaventura

Anne Thompson brings us up to speed on producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura, whose current project, 'Shooter', directed by Antoine Fuqua, starring Mark Wahlberg, is in theaters now.

For anyone who may not know -- Anne Thompson is now at Variety. Her new blog is called Thompson on Hollywood. New digs, new name, just as good as ever.