Prime Video’s ‘G20’ is a competent action-thriller. Some critics point out that it has genre troupes, and the CGI could’ve been improved in some minor scenes. Nevertheless, it is a action-movie that works due to competent direction by indie veteran Patricia Riggen, the precise cinematography during the well-choreographed action scenes, and the capable cast led by Davis, who is opposed by Anthony Starr (The Boys) as the actor plays the leader of the antagonists with gusto and an Australian accent.

One of the aspects that makes Viola Davis an acting virtuoso is her engagement with the role. In a way that the Academy adores, Davis isn’t shy to go through a physical transformation to get into the character, as their bodies are part of their personality and expression, as the actress did in ‘The Woman King’ (2022). In ‘G20,’ Davis again shows a powerful and realistic physique as she achieved it through a transformation under the skilled coaching of personal trainer and nutritionist Gabriela Mclain. Davis is 59 years old, and this shows that with adequate training and diet, she can bring this side of President Sutton, a US Army veteran, and make it believable in an action picture that suspends reality. There is no problem with the outlandish scenes because it isn’t a documentary.

The picture also gives room for the supporting cast to shine; the family is composed of the reliable Anthony Anderson, playing husband Derek, with the children: the trustworthy Demetrius (Christopher Farrar) and the computer-savvy Serena (Marsai Martin); the latter has a relationship infused with attrition with President Sutton. The family and its extended member, Presidential bodyguard Agent Manny Ruiz (Ramón Rodríguez), compose the emotional core of the picture.

As a movie that revolves around the most powerful nations in a summit in South Africa’s Cape Town, ‘G20’ has prime international talent with Italy’s Sabrina Impacciatore, Britain’s Douglas Hodge, Korean-American MeeWha Alana Lee and American Elizabeth Marvel. The picture allows South Africans Theo Bongani Ndyalvane and Noxolo Dlamini to shine and show that they are capable action heroes in their own right.
Another strong moment in the picture is the shooting scene, which is followed by a fighting scene, all under dark lights. This shows the choreographic and stunt proficiency in high-caliber pictures and how to photograph dark-skinned talent in very few lighted scenes. For action film aficionados, this is the moment that stands out.

Patricia Riggen, Gabriela Mclain, and producers Julius Tennon and Viola Davis with ‘G20’ show that there is a market for this product and that Davis can go further with bigger budgets and cinema theater weeks. There are many action movies that are called B movies out there, but the attributes pointed out in this article, and mostly Viola Davis’s acting skills and dedication, push it above much of the “content” offered today and serve as a new direction for the revered actress.

“I don’t think every movie you do has to be considered for an Academy Award. I wanted to do something that families could watch together, something popular,” said Davis in an interview with The Times of London. Critics forget that sometimes, viewers want something to forget our mundane lives and that dramatic roles are psychologically demanding for actors and those involved. The EGOT winner Viola Davis shines in the entertaining ‘G20.’

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However, the smiles in movie posters don’t tell the struggle of Black talent to have their spot and then see some of their peers climbing to the top in an industry that wasn’t built for them and still is ruled by invisible grabbing hands, obstacles and glass ceilings that dictate the roles for Black people in a rigged game.

To tell this story, which recounts the uphill battles, failures, successes, and funny anecdotes, come the two companion documentary features, ‘Number One on the Call Sheet,’ which are produced by James Foxx, Kevin Hart, Datari Turner, and Dan Cogan. Academy Award nominee Reginald Hudlin directs ‘Black Leading Men in Hollywood,’ and NAACP Image Award-winning Shola Lynch directs ‘Black Leading Women in Hollywood.’
The Leading Men Row features interviews with Foxx, Hart, and other heavyweights like Denzel Washington, Eddie Murphy, Will Smith, Dwayne Johnson, Idris Elba, Morgan Freeman, and Quentin Tarantino, among others. The leading women’s chapter has interviews with Viola Davis, Halle Berry, Angela Bassett, Cynthia Erivo, Whoopi Goldberg, and Tessa Thompson, to name a few. Although “siblings,” both pictures have a distinct feel and use the best that Hudlin and Lynch offer, all in favour of the Black history in Hollywood and the interviewees.

The expression ‘Number One on the Call Sheet’ marks the first actor to appear on a sheet with the cast’s names and what is to be shot. Being the number one shows that the actor is the subject of the narrative and not the object, as Tessa Thompson says in the doc. It is the top cat spot, the protagonist, and, on many occasions, the one with the higher paycheck. It is also a responsibility. In the end, it shows the talent, which is their status in the movie business.

‘Black Leading Men’ has a bold attitude, reflected in how the interviewees tell their truths. They share stories in which you can see them fluctuating from boldness to doubt and back to the mindset that led them to the top of their fields.

The documentary’s strength is its interviewee selection, which includes leading men with different levels of success. It showcases different archetypes and their pioneers to open roles that weren’t thought for men of colour in their original concept. Men like Washington, and before him Sydney Poitier and Harry Belafonte, are society’s standard bearers of Black masculinity, and within time, few Black actors crossed this barrier.

A welcome addition is Tarantino who has a vast knowledge of Hollywood, not to mention that he has created so many Black characters. Although employing crass and controversial humour, the director can translate to the screen nuances of the Black experience; therefore, his presence gives more gravitas to ‘Black Leading Men in Hollywood.’

Nevertheless, those who give Hudlin the most are Denzel, Freeman, Foxx, and Smith. They sit at a table of rarefied air for Black artists and the whole of Hollywood. Their stories of overcoming the struggles are vital to the picture; between the lines are those moments when they talk about their climb, seeing what they had to overcome and the modern challenges of being in the elite squad.
Reginald Hudlin appears as one of the interviewees. A mover and shaker of Black Hollywood, his presence is like that of a historian who has not only seen the events but also been part of them.

The emotional, deeper parts come from Denzel Washington’s interview. His lines make us understand why generations of actors from all ethnic backgrounds look up to him and even more why Black men look up to him. He is a paradigm of confidence and morality in a not-always-ethical landscape.

‘Black Leading Men’ uses a light and bright, colourful palette to tell a story and it highlights the skin tones of the interviewees, showing the consideration Hudlin and team had with the technical aspects that not only enhance the visual language but also further the narrative, which is contrasted with candid moments of vulnerability by these men and it prepares the terrain for its “sibling” documentary.

Mammies and watermelon women opened the path for the trailblazers of modern-day Black female Hollywood

Although it is a companion piece, ‘Black Leading Women’ has an identity of its own, given by Shola Lynch, staff, and her group of interviewees. There are fewer victorious smiles because, as Halle puts it, Black women are really at the bottom of the societal hierarchy, and not only in Hollywood.

Here, women discuss their career paths, those who came before them, and those who will come after. When it turns back to Hattie McDaniel and her 1940 Best Supporting Actress Academy Award win for playing Mammy in ‘Gone With the Wind’ (1939), there is a moment of pride which later turns into a sincere recounting that the talented McDaniel was pigeonholed to playing Mammies for the entirety of her career which is also a grim visage on how many in the industry perceive the very same interviewees of this documentary even after decades of McDaniel’s win where she couldn’t even celebrate among her peers for being Black.

The recount of the ‘mammies,’ nurses, sidekicks, and other stereotypical roles, testify to the fact that many producers can’t (or don’t want to) see these talented women due to their colour, and how they end up dying horrific deaths in horror movies to further the narratives of the white protagonist reminds the classic indie film ‘The Watermelon Woman’ (1996) by Cheryl Dunye where a young Black lesbian filmmaker research the life of The Watermelon Woman, an early 20th Century Black actress who played a set of ‘mammies’ before falling into oblivion.

Shola uses sombre colours and shy lighting to portray the interviewees so that they come naturally on the screen. This is how such capable women should be embraced by the industry, critics, and fans. They can interpret leads who are in love in a romantic role or psychologically demanding characters that are often relegated to white actresses. For example, Viola Davis is in the same league as Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore, Jodie Foster, and Annette Bening because Davis can go from complex dramas such as ‘Fences’ to epic pictures as seen in ‘The Woman King.’ Nevertheless, it feels that the world is only looking at her now. The fact that Black women are going strong in the Academy Awards Best Supporting Actress shows that the industry needs to take huge and courageous leaps to give them lead roles and match the grit these actresses have in a mechanism that wasn’t built to receive them properly.

Apple TV+ has an important documentary in both pieces because it documents Black Hollywood and how it interacts with Main Hollywood and other branches. It is of historical value considering the position cinema holds in American society and its influence around the globe.

‘Number One on the Call Sheet’ should be studied in universities as it is a recorded piece of history and testifies to Apple TV+’s commitment to cinema culture and its acceptance of people from different backgrounds.

The companion piece also opens Apple TV+ to explore other corners of Hollywood, like Latinos, Asians, foreigners, and queer community. For instance, a documentary with a similar format with interviewees like Colman Domingo, Andrew Scott, Hunter Schafer, and Guinevere Turner would serve as a historical document of the LGBTQIA+ artists in Hollywood. These communities are the backbone of cinema and entertainment, and these voices, such as those from ‘Number One on the Call Sheet’, are necessary to a healthier society than the one we live in today.

Rating: (4 / 5)

‘Number One on the Call Sheet’ premieres March 28th on Apple TV+.

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Today we will look briefly at the history of modern action heroines. We’ll also look at the importance of this development and its impact on gender representation within the industry more broadly.

Here Come The Girls

The 2010s saw a growth of interest in women-led action films after the release of titles like Alice in Wonderland (2010) and The Hunger Games. These films were hugely successful, had heroines leading the action and showed them rebelling against the established order. Showing that audiences wanted to see lead actresses challenging the blockbuster status quo.

From there women-led YA action films became box office regulars. Films like Mad Max: Fury Road and the new Star Wars trilogy also shifted their franchises to focus more on the strong ladies in their worlds, with Furiosa and Rey providing good examples of capable and emotionally complex women action leads. During this time pressure also mounted for successful franchises like the MCU and DCEU to make films for their iconic superheroines. This later bore fruit with the success of Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel.

And the hunger for genre heroines is still present, with films like Everything Everywhere All At Once, The Woman King, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever carving out more space for woman actors of colour in leading action roles.

Heroic Recruitment

Because strong and complex action heroines are now more prominent women viewers are able to feel less marginalised by popular action films. These films also help to shift hegemonic ideas about womanhood. Showing that more opportunities are available to women than simply supporting a man’s story. Additionally, sources have shown that greater representation leads to better self-esteem by allowing underseen groups to feel more valued and it also helps to promote understanding between groups through humanisation. 

This uptake could positively affect the film industry as well. Research has found that having role models in the media can help women become more ambitious and assertive. Meaning that the more the industry showcases strong and complex leading ladies the more encouraged women will be to pursue their dream careers. Like making and starring in films.

Women in Film

The number of action heroine leads rose from 3% in 2016 to 10% in 2022. Meaning there is now a greater chance for woman actors to have leading roles and be seen by big audiences. Thanks to the many successes of the past few years, we have also seen a rise in women directors and writers. Particularly since 2017 (writers rose from 11% in 2017 to 19% in 2022 and directors rose from 11% to 18%) when Wonder Woman (at the time the highest-grossing film ever directed by a woman) was released. While correlation doesn’t equal causation it’s certainly conceivable that a successful woman-driven film in one of the most popular genres opened producers to the power that women-led and fronted productions can have. Thereby opening the industry to more women creatives. 

But the fight for representation is not over. In 2022 only 10% of the top-grossing action films had a solo woman as the protagonist. While men accounted for 30%. Additionally, women of colour, LGBTQ and disabled women are still underrepresented in these stories. As they account for 51% of UK cinemagoers it’s only right that women should see themselves reflected and headlining popular genres. The past few years have brought great progress. But if audiences and artists continue fighting even better possibilities will follow.

Also Read: Class Rules: The Representation of UK’s Social Class in Film

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The post Shattering Stereotypes: The Rise of Women in Action Cinema appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.