I Am Woman (film)

Last updated

I Am Woman
I Am Woman poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Unjoo Moon
Written byEmma Jensen
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography Dion Beebe
Edited by Dany Cooper
Music byRafael May
Production
companies
Distributed by Stan
Release dates
  • 5 September 2019 (2019-09-05)(TIFF)
  • 28 August 2020 (2020-08-28)(Australia)
Running time
116 minutes
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish

I Am Woman is a 2019 Australian biographical film about singer Helen Reddy, directed and produced by Unjoo Moon, from a screenplay by Emma Jensen. Tilda Cobham-Hervey stars as Reddy alongside Evan Peters, as her manager husband Jeff Wald, and Danielle Macdonald as rock writer Lilian Roxon.

Contents

Plot

In 1966, Helen Reddy arrives in New York City to record an album, the result of her having won a contest in her home country of Australia. She meets with the record label, only for them to renege on the deal, leaving her stranded with her three-year-old daughter Traci. Lonely and in need of money, Reddy begins singing at small nightclubs and looks up her old friend, rock journalist Lilian Roxon. At a party given by Roxon, Reddy meets talent agent Jeff Wald. Reddy and Wald begin dating and Wald takes her on as a client. They marry and relocate to Los Angeles, which Wald feels will offer more opportunities for their respective careers.

Initially, Wald has little success in promoting his wife, as record companies favor male groups. Repeated insistent calls to Capitol Records land Reddy the opportunity to record a single. Wald enlists family and friends to help promote the demo by requesting it on radio stations and soon the B side, a cover of "I Don't Know How to Love Him", becomes Reddy's first hit. They buy a much larger home and begin indulging in the Hollywood lifestyle, with Wald picking up a cocaine habit.

Reddy becomes interested in the burgeoning feminist movement, inspiring her to write "I Am Woman." Though executives pronounce the song "angry" and "man-hating," Wald encourages Reddy to add it to her concert repertoire. Soon, it becomes her biggest hit and a feminist anthem.

Within a few years, she gains eight number one US singles, as well as her own television show and residency in Las Vegas, but the pressures of the industry strain her marriage. Once again, Reddy seeks support from Roxon, only to find her friend in poor health. When Roxon dies of asthma, Reddy attempts to cancel her upcoming concerts, but Wald insists she keep her commitments.

After a successful show, Reddy finds her husband backstage, under the influence of cocaine and assaulting recording company personnel. Overcome by shock and exhaustion, Reddy collapses and wakes up in the emergency room to discover the Equal Rights Amendment, a feminist cornerstone, has been defeated. She returns home and finds she and Wald are deeply in debt, which Wald blames on their accountant. They divorce, sell the house, and Reddy retires from show business in the early 1980s.

In 1989, Traci approaches her to perform at a feminist rally in Washington, D.C. Reddy demurs at first, but the film ends with her performing "I Am Woman" in the National Mall, with thousands of her fellow activists singing along.

Cast

Production

Reddy lived in a care facility in Los Angeles before her death one month after the film's Australian release, and her family advised the filmmakers on the project. [1] Moon said she felt great responsibility to Helen to ensure the story was told sensitively: "Before we locked the movie off, Producer Rosemary Blight (Goalpost Pictures) and I felt very strongly that we needed to show the movie to Helen and her family. We did a screening for Helen, her ex-husband Jeff Wald, and her two children. As a filmmaker, sitting in the cinema with Helen Reddy was, and it’s probably going to be, one of the hardest screenings I had to do for the film. I suddenly realised that this is her life and she was watching it through my eyes. During the screening, Helen sang along to her songs, and when she cried, it wasn’t because she was sad that we made the movie, she cried because she found the whole experience so touching, and I think really cathartic in a way." [2]

Screen Australia is the principal investor in the film, [3] alongside Cowlick Entertainment, and arts body Create NSW, with further funding from the Goodship Women's Fund, which supports films with strong social change messaging.

Release

The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on 5 September 2019. [4] [5]

It was shown at the 24th Busan International Film Festival in Busan, South Korea, in October 2019. [3]

The film was chosen to open the 10th annual Athena Film Festival at Barnard College of Columbia University in New York, which celebrates women, on 27 February 2020. [6]

It was reported on 31 March 2020 (before the extent of the COVID-19 pandemic was known) that I Am Woman was scheduled for release in Australia by Transmission Films, [7] in North America through Aqute Media, and elsewhere by Metropolitan (France), Nos (Portugal), Inopia (Spain), Videovision (South Africa), Front Row (Middle East), Bliss Media (China), Scene & Sound (South Korea), Ale Kino+ (Poland), VTI (former Yugoslavia), Cineplex (Taiwan), Golden A Entertainment (Thailand) and Cinesky (airlines). [8]

Premiere screenings were shown at cinemas around Adelaide (star Cobham-Hervey's home town) from 22 to 23 August 2020, presented by the Adelaide Film Festival. It streams throughout Australia on the Stan platform from 28 August 2020. [9]

Critical response

As of October 2021 the film holds an approval rating of 67% based on 81 reviews on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 6.1/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "I Am Woman sticks disappointingly close to standard biopic formula, but Tilda Cobham-Hervey's performance keeps this affectionate, watchable tribute from falling flat." [10]

Indiewire declared the film “a cut above other genre entries”, [11] while David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter described it as “entertaining and sharply packaged” with “considerable appeal”. He said of Cobham-Hervey's performance: "The crucial thing is that you really root for Helen — to make it in the first place and then to make it through a nightmarish marriage and come out unbroken. The luminous Cobham-Hervey has you in the corner of this smart, pragmatic, quietly driven woman all the way." [12]

Toronto movie review site That Shelf called it a “sure fire crowd pleaser”. [13]

Moon was awarded the Athena Breakthrough Award at the Athena Film Festival. [6]

Accolades

AwardCategorySubjectResult
AACTA Awards (10th) Best Film Rosemary Blight Nominated
Unjoo MoonNominated
Best Actress Tilda Cobham-Hervey Nominated
Best Editing Dany Cooper Nominated
Best Original Music Score Rafael MayNominated
Best Sound Robert Mackenzie Nominated
Ben OsmoNominated
Pete SmithNominated
Tara WebbNominated
Best Production Design Richie DehneNominated
Michael TurnerNominated
Best Costume Design Emily SeresinNominated
Best Hair and Makeup Nikki GooleyNominated
Cassie O’BrienNominated
Wendy de WaalNominated
Best CastingNikki BarrettNominated

Soundtrack

I Am Woman (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Soundtrack album by
Released21 August 2020
Label Goalpost, Sony Music Australia

A soundtrack was released by Goalpost and distributed by Sony Music Australia in August 2020. It was produced by Bry Jones and Michael Tan, and features Chelsea Cullen who provided the singing voice of Reddy in the film. [14] [15]

At the 2020 ARIA Music Awards it won ARIA Award for Best Original Soundtrack, Cast or Show Album. [16]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Performer(s)Length
1."I Am Woman" (1989 version)Chelsea Cullen3:41
2."I Don't Know How to Love Him"Chelsea Cullen3:20
3."That's All"
Chelsea Cullen4:27
4."Leave Me Alone"Chelsea Cullen3:42
5."Delta Dawn"Chelsea Cullen2:50
6."You and Me Against the World"Chelsea Cullen2:46
7."Angie Baby"Chelsea Cullen3:31
8."Love Song for Jeffrey"Chelsea Cullen2:43
9."Ain't No Way to Treat a Lady"Chelsea Cullen3:21
10."Revolution"Lily Donat2:51
11."I Am Woman" (1972 version)
  • Burton
  • Reddy
Chelsea Cullen3:22

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tilda Swinton</span> British actress

Katherine Matilda Swinton is a British actress. Known for her roles in independent films and blockbusters, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition to nominations for three Golden Globe Awards. In 2020, The New York Times ranked her as one of the greatest actors of the 21st century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helen Reddy</span> Australian-American singer, actress, TV host, and activist (1941–2020)

Helen Maxine Reddy was an Australian-American singer, actress, television host, and activist. Born in Melbourne to a show business family, Reddy started her career as an entertainer at age four. She sang on radio and television and won a talent contest on the television program Bandstand in 1966; her prize was a ticket to New York City and a record audition, which was unsuccessful. After a short and unsuccessful singing career in New York, she eventually moved to Chicago, and subsequently, Los Angeles, where she made her debut singles "One Way Ticket" and "I Believe in Music" in 1968 and 1970, respectively. The B-side of the latter single, "I Don't Know How to Love Him", reached number eight on the pop chart of the Canadian magazine RPM. She was signed to Capitol Records a year later.

Lillian Roxon was an Australian music journalist and author, best known for Lillian Roxon's Rock Encyclopedia (1969).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adelaide Film Festival</span> Film festival in Adelaide, South Australia

The Adelaide Film Festival is a film festival usually held for two weeks in mid-October in cinemas in Adelaide, South Australia. Originally presented biennially in March from 2003, since 2013 AFF has been held in October. Subject to funding, the festival has staged full or briefer events in alternating years; some form of event has taken place every year since 2015. From 2022 it takes place annually. It has a strong focus on local South Australian and Australian produced content, with the Adelaide Film Festival Investment Fund (AFFIF) established to fund investment in Australian films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Am Woman</span> 1972 single by Helen Reddy

"I Am Woman" is a song written by Australian musicians Helen Reddy and Ray Burton. Performed by Reddy, the first recording of "I Am Woman" appeared on her debut album I Don't Know How to Love Him, released in May 1971, and was heard during the closing credits for the 1972 film Stand Up and Be Counted. A new recording of the song was released as a single in May 1972 and became a number-one hit later that year, eventually selling over one million copies. The song came near the apex of the counterculture era and, by celebrating female empowerment, became an enduring feminist anthem for the women's liberation movement. Following Reddy's death in September 2020, the song peaked at number 2 on the Australian digital sales chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angie Baby</span> 1974 song written by Alan ODay

"Angie Baby" is a song that was written by American singer-songwriter Alan O'Day, and became a hit for Australian singer Helen Reddy. The song reached #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart at the end of December 1974 and became one of Reddy's biggest-selling singles. The song also topped the U.S. adult contemporary chart, Reddy's fifth #1 on this chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Don't Know How to Love Him</span> 1970 single by Yvonne Elliman

"I Don't Know How to Love Him" is a song from the 1970 album and 1971 rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar written by Andrew Lloyd Webber (music) and Tim Rice (lyrics), a torch ballad sung by the character of Mary Magdalene. In the opera she is presented as bearing an unrequited love for the title character. The song has been much recorded, with "I Don't Know How to Love Him" being one of the rare songs to have had two concurrent recordings reach the top 40 of the Hot 100 chart in Billboard magazine, specifically those by Helen Reddy and Yvonne Elliman, since the 1950s when multi-version chartings were common.

<i>Girl Asleep</i> (film) 2015 Australian film

Girl Asleep is a 2015 Australian surrealist coming-of-age drama film written by Matthew Whittet and directed by Rosemary Myers. The film has been described as an extroverted fantasy dreamscape of an introverted teenage girl. The film is an adaptation of the successful theatre production, also written by Matthew Whittet, by Windmill Theatre in 2014 of the same name, that premiered at the Adelaide Festival. The cast includes: Bethany Whitmore, Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Imogen Archer, Harrison Feldman, Amber McMahon, Eamon Farren, scriptwriter Matthew Whittet and Maiah Stewardson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athena Film Festival</span>

The Athena Film Festival is an annual film festival held at Barnard College of Columbia University in New York City. The festival takes place in February and focuses on films celebrating women and leadership. In addition to showing films, the festival hosts filmmaker workshops, master classes and panels on a variety of topics relevant to women in the film industry. The Athena Film Festival was co-founded by Kathryn Kolbert, Founding Director of the Athena Center for Leadership Studies at Barnard College and Melissa Silverstein, founder of the Women and Hollywood initiative and the festival's Artistic Director.

<i>I Dont Know How to Love Him</i> (album) 1971 studio album by Helen Reddy

I Don't Know How to Love Him is the debut studio album by Australian-American pop singer Helen Reddy, released on May 10, 1971, by Capitol Records. I Don't Know How to Love Him included her first recording of "I Am Woman". The album made its first appearance on Billboard magazine's Top LP's chart in the issue dated June 5, 1971, and remained there for 37 weeks, peaking at number 100, and got as high as number 40 on the album chart in Canada's RPM magazine. On November 27, 1974, the album received Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America, and on March 29, 2005, it was released for the first time on compact disc as one of two albums on one CD, the other album being Reddy's eponymous follow-up that originally came out in the fall of 1971.

<i>I Am Woman</i> (album) 1972 studio album by Helen Reddy

I Am Woman is the third studio album by Australian–American pop singer Helen Reddy, released on 13 November 1972, by Capitol Records. The album included her second recording of the song that gave the album its name, which was also the version that spent a week at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danielle Macdonald</span> Australian actress (born 1991)

Danielle Louise Macdonald is an Australian actress, known for her lead roles as Patricia "Patti" Dombrowski in the drama film Patti Cake$ (2017), and Willowdean Dickson in Dumplin' (2018). She is also known for her roles in the post-apocalyptic thriller film Bird Box as Olympia, the film Skin (2018) as Julie, the Netflix series Unbelievable as Amber, and the BBC One/Stan/HBO Max thriller series The Tourist as Helen.

Tilda Cobham-Hervey is an Australian actress. She made her film debut in 52 Tuesdays, a critically-acclaimed independent film directed by Sophie Hyde, and has also appeared on stage. She appeared in the 2018 film Hotel Mumbai, and starred as feminist icon Helen Reddy in the 2019 biopic I Am Woman. In 2023 she starred in the Amazon Prime TV series The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart.

<i>One Eyed Girl</i> 2015 Australian film

One Eyed Girl is a 2015 Australian psychological thriller film directed by Nick Remy Matthews and starring Mark Leonard Winter, Tilda Cobham-Hervey, and Steve Le Marquand. Winter plays a troubled psychiatrist who joins a cult after one of his patients commits suicide. It premiered at the Austin Film Festival in October 2014 and was released in Australia in April 2015.

<i>Hotel Mumbai</i> 2018 action thriller film directed by Anthony Maras

Hotel Mumbai is a 2018 action thriller film directed by Anthony Maras and co-written by Maras and John Collee. An Indian-Australian-American co-production, it is inspired by the 2009 documentary Surviving Mumbai about the 2008 Mumbai attacks at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in India. The film stars Dev Patel, Armie Hammer, Nazanin Boniadi, Anupam Kher, Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Jason Isaacs, Suhail Nayyar, Nagesh Bhosle, and Natasha Liu Bordizzo.

Unjoo Moon is an Australian film director, best known for the 2020 biopic I Am Woman, that tells the story of international feminist icon Helen Reddy.

Chelsea Cullen is an Australian pop singer. Cullen provided the singing voice of Helen Reddy in the 2019 biographical film, I Am Woman, for which she won an ARIA Music Award.

Young Woman and the Sea is an upcoming American biographical drama film directed by Joachim Rønning and written by Jeff Nathanson, based on the 2009 book by Glenn Stout. Produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films, it stars Daisy Ridley as Gertrude Ederle, an American competitive swimmer who became the first woman to swim across the English Channel.

References

  1. "The untold story of Helen Reddy: 'I Am Woman'". IF Magazine. 18 June 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  2. "I Am Woman director Unjoo Moon is strong, invincible, and woman". Create NSW. 5 March 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  3. 1 2 "I Am Woman (2020) - The Screen Guide". Screen Australia. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  4. "I Am Woman". Toronto International Film Festival . Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  5. Lang, Brent (23 July 2019). "Toronto Film Festival: 'Joker,' 'Ford v Ferrari,' 'Hustlers' Among Big Premieres". Variety . Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  6. 1 2 ""I Am Woman" kicks off Barnard's 10th annual Athena Film Festival with a celebration of feminist musician Helen Reddy". Columbia Daily Spectator. 28 February 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  7. "I Am Woman". Transmission Films . Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  8. Ritman, Alex (31 March 2020). "Helen Reddy Biopic 'I Am Woman' Lands U.S. Deal With Aqute Media (Exclusive)". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  9. Marsh, Walter (19 August 2020). "I Am Woman's Tilda Cobham-Hervey on becoming Helen Reddy". The Adelaide Review. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  10. "I Am Woman (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango . Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  11. Erbland, Kate (6 September 2019). "'I Am Woman' Review: Biopic Tropes Can't Dim Shine of Tilda Cobham-Hervey's Star Turn As Helen Reddy". IndieWire. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  12. "'I Am Woman': Film Review | TIFF 2019". The Hollywood Reporter. 12 September 2019. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  13. Mullen, Pat (5 September 2019). "TIFF 2019: I Am Woman Review". That Shelf. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  14. "I Am Woman (Soundtrack)". Apple Music AU. 21 August 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  15. "I Am Woman soundtrack". Apple Music. 21 August 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  16. "And the 2020 ARIA Awards Go To…". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 25 November 2020.