I'm Your Woman

Movie Name: I'm Your Woman
Year of Release: 2020
Director: Julia Hart
Starring: Rachel Brosnahan, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Arinze Kene, Frankie Faison, Bill Heck, Marceline Hugot, James McMenamin, Jarrod DiGiorgi
Genre: Drama, Crime
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 5
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review:

Julia Hart made a splash with her debut feature, the well received "Miss Stevens", which premiered in 2016 and featured a great performance from Lily Rabe. Since then she's kept herself busy, and this is in fact the second of her features to debut in 2020. The film takes place in the 70s and follows the story of Jean, whom at the beginning of the narrative, we find living in a nice house (in some non identified suburbs), and whose husband Eddie seems to be absent quite frequently. One day he shows up with a baby, claiming that's their new child, and for Jean to take care of him. As she resumes her life, now taking care of a child, the situation once again changes, when one of Eddie's associates shows up at their door, claiming Jean has to leave immediately with the baby, taking with her a bag of money and that's it. She's helped by another one of Eddie's associates, Cal, who takes her to another house. Jean uncovers bits and pieces of information, and discovers Eddie was a killer, and has gotten in trouble. As the people trying to find Eddie also come after Jean, she and the baby, with the assistance of Cal have to flee once more. 

"I'm Your Woman" is an interesting feature, one that manages to hold the attention of the viewer, due to the fact that it provides information and context to what is taking place very progressively, much like the central character learns and uncovers what is taking place. This progressive disclosure turns out to the most interesting component of the film, since the narrative is built like an onion, with multiple layers, or at least with a couple of layers. However once the layers are uncovered, the film doesn't have much in terms of an arc, since most of the characters that have been depicted are mostly sketches or have been rapidly drawn and abandoned (such as Eddie or his associates). Jean, the central character who's suppose to ground the narrative, all that we eventually know of her, ties with her anguish and challenges in becoming a mother, and though that humanizes her and gives her some dimension, it's simply not enough to give depth or nuance to someone who is suddenly thrown into a perilous situation. She's such a blank canvas at times, that even though the film is supposedly taking place in this crime ridden milieu, it fails to register as menacing or for that matter urgent. The cast manages to bring these characters to life, with Arinze Kene registering the best in a supporting role that avoids cliches. While not being a bad film, it's ultimately forgettable.