At last we reach the final part of the 100 Kick-Ass Female Film Characters – the blame for the delay lies with me and my unorganized schedule. But we made it. Thanks to all that contributed and followed the series.
Helen Sinclair – – – Bullets Over Broadway (1994)
Even during a normal conversation, stage diva Helen Sinclair plays all of her lines to the back row, and by the time she says, “Don’t speak,” for the twentieth time, the results are uproarious. Dianne Wiest’s larger-than-life interpretation of the buffoonery that results from the self-centeredness of stardom is the foundation on which Woody Allen builds his hilarious gangsters-in-the-wings comedy.
Wiest steals every scene she’s in, always making her entrances grand, as if we have all been waiting for her, plot be damned. Her scattergun ego fires in all directions, from her incredible excuses for being late to her overt disdain for anything or anyone who diverts attention from her, then she moves on like a passing hurricane. The Allen/Wiest partnership is magical and has garnered two supporting Oscars.
Their creation, Helen Sinclair, simply – and deservedly – vacuumed-up all possible acting awards that year. In an interview, Wiest is quoted as saying, “Unless you are unique, your opinion goes out the window.” In Bullets Over Broadway she inflates this adage to the size of a parade float, all the while maintaining a streak of vulnerability that draws our affection as well as delight. A perfect kick-ass performance. – – – Steve Schweighofer
Trinity – – – The Matrix (2000)
What Blade failed to do, the Wachowskis and Carrie-Anne Moss succeed in when they created The Matrix. They made it look incredibly impressive and uncomfortable to fly around in head to toe leather. Carrie played Trinity, the pistol wielding and agent kicking badass tasked to take Neo on his journey to save the metaphorical world that normal humans are too blind to acknowledge.
One only wishes that Trinity was more heavily featured in The Matrix trilogy instead of focusing on a reliance of CGI and poor acting from Keanu Reeves. Carrie-Anne should have led the movie and cemented herself in the conversation as one of the greatest Sci-fi heroines. – – – Mike Austin
Marge Gunderson – – – Fargo (1996)
A charming example of a successful, respected and well-liked female police officer, wife and expectant mother. Marge uses her likeability to disprove the people who doubt her ability to solve the cases she’s assigned to, and the triple murder in Fargo is no exception. She also demonstrates particular skill in compassion and rational thinking, especially when compared to her male colleagues who she regularly corrects or surpasses in terms of interpreting clues.
In Marge we see a unusually sweet respect for life, as the mother-to-be manages to crack the case and catch the killer with as little damage caused as possible, and her ability to detect the goodness in the world remains as strong post-drama as it was at the start. – – – Rhiannon Topham
Hermione Granger – — Harry Potter films (2001 onward)
Hermione Granger is the type of badass that doesn’t break down doors or fire a gun. She might have to fire off a spell or two when she’s in trouble, but her biggest asset is her brain. As beloved as they are, the Harry Potter films have always faced Death Eater-level scrutiny from those who never thought the adaptations fully captured J.K. Rowling’s magical world.
One of the things you can’t overlook or deny, however, is the casting, and one of the strongest assets is Emma Watson as Hermione. Ms. Granger might be a know-it-all at times, but she’s tenacious, fearless, and unshakably intelligent. While Harry Potter and Ron Weasley constantly fought with Draco Malfoy, she was the only one who actually punched him in the nose.
Hermione is able to keep her cool while squaring off against dreaded witches, Muggle-born racism, and battling the stupidity of boys during the unstoppable tidal wave progression of puberty. Her passionate curiosity and thirst for knowledge supports the notion that brains are mightier than brawn. – – – Joey Moser
Clementine Kruczynski – – – Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
In a film which can safely be described as visual poetry, Winslet’s Clementine is the iambic foundation onto which everything rhymes so lyrically, making it impossible for both Joel and the viewer not to fall deeply for her personality’s ever-changing rainbow waterfall. She doesn’t need to wave her arms to get our attention, there is no reason for extremes; she just has to be there, eyes sparkling with a passionate lust for life, feet dancing carelessly amidst societal norms and expectations to a tune that only echoes between the fluid confines of her own fading anamnesis.
Yet, against all odds, we hear it. Unbeknownst to her, the music flows out of her in billowing waves, swelling up to a crescendo of charm condensed where she so offhandedly becomes a muse, a pixie inspiration capable equally of undiluted love and irreparable pain. Like a modern age Helen of Troy, Clementine Kruczynski is a beautiful, unstoppable force that drives and evokes, that causes and affects the lives of everyone she brushes shoulders with the feather-light touch of her enchanting individuality. – – – The Greek
Mindy Macready / Hit-Girl – – – Kick-Ass (2011)
In the vast depth of cinema it is very rare to have an eleven-year-old girl vindictively utter the c-word and slice off limbs so effortlessly – thus having certain audience members kicking up a stick. Children grieve and develop in different ways. As played so ruthlessly by little Chloë Grace Moretz, crime-fighter Hit-Girl bursts onto the screen with real vigilante purpose in Matthew Vaughn’s sadistic black comedy Kick-Ass.
Her alto ego Mindy Macready proves to be a product of her surroundings and upbringing, where her father Damon (AKA Batman-look-a-like Big Daddy) raised her to be tough and prepared – he was once a cop, set-up by a Mafia boss, resulting in his wife, and Mindy’s mother, taking her own life.
Teaming up with the Kick-Ass of the title Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson), Hit-Girl goes full-throttle honoring her father’s well-intended legacy by exacting revenge on her enemies (I mean, seriously, she kicks a lot of ass here). There’s more to mere violence in this girl’s tale though, abound by a thoroughly ruffled and hazardous upbringing, losing a mother, and then a father in a strikingly poignant farewell. – – – Robin Write
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