'Wicked' women

A stripper. A black-robed witch with green skin. A Mexican cartel leader. A CEO sleeping with her intern: Many of the season's top films feature women that could be deemed "Wicked" by definition of Oz: those society could think of as bad, or even evil, because of their nonconformity.

Now is the time for the year's top films to debut (awards season is just weeks away!). "Emilia Perez," "Wicked," "Anora," and "Babygirl" all feature notorious female archetypes: the witch, the sex worker, the bad boss and the criminal, all acting in ways that challenge these type forms, injecting empathy and troubling our assumptions.

👋 Nicole Fallert here and welcome to Your Week, our newsletter exclusively for Paste BN subscribers (that's you!). This week, we talk with Paste BN movie critic Brian Truitt about the season in film — what to watch and what these stories mean.

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Don't expect happy endings from these movies

A theme unites the films coming out this fall: A woman finds her power and wants to do the right thing — sometimes at the cost of being a villain.

"It's good counterprogramming to the typical holiday film in which women behave," Truitt said of the moment in cinema. "One of the things that connects this year's stories is a woman doing what she needs to get what she wants."

The titles coming to cinemas through the end of the year offer a very different collection of films than last year (remember "Poor Things" and "Saltburn"?!), which took on fantastical worlds. Rather, these films show real worlds with quirky characters who lack an obvious path.

"People will love these women sitting in their badness and rearticulating wrong and right," Truitt said.

'Wicked'

This is true of Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), who discovers her inner power and wants to use it to do the right thing in "Wicked." When doing good upsets society, she's labeled as "wicked" and treated as a villain. The audience leaves the theater rooting for the enemy, a twist on the classic holiday film that emphasizes light conquering darkness, he said.

We've got room on the couch! Sign up for Paste BN's Watch Party newsletter to follow TV & film news with Brian Truitt.

'Anora'

A theme of wickedness is also conveyed in "Anora," which follows a sex worker played by Mikey Madison who marries the son of a Russian oligarch. It's a Cinderella story about an unlikely heroine, honing in on a type of person who is typically an object, not the subject, Truitt said. The film literally zones in on a face society would often ignore: close camera shots force viewers to look Anora in the eyes, putting a conscious on an experience that is often taboo.

"She finds a way out of where she is in her life," Truitt said. It's not that circumstances happen to Anora, she is in charge of the circumstances around her. The audience sees how far she's willing to go to get ahead, and when that diamond-encrusted face finally cracks (no spoilers!).

'Emilia Perez'

This sense of redemption also highlights "Emilia Perez," in which women (a star-studded cast of Karla Sofia Gascon, Zoe Saldana, and Selena Gomez) are willing to use their inner power to get what they want, whether it's joy, love, or revenge. The film follows their journey across sin and sisterhood in a chaotic musical about a drug cartel leader who realizes a lifelong destiny to live as a woman. Once she transitions, Emilia helps family members find victims of drug cartels. Emilia, like Elphaba and Anora, wants to be a better person, but she still has to make bad choices to get to that point.

"It's bat⋯ crazy," Truitt said of watching "Emilia." "But people who watch it, really get it. I like it because it tries something so new."

'Babygirl'

Truitt is curious if as many viewers will cheer for Nicole Kidman's Romy in "Babygirl," in which a CEO starts an affair with a young intern. It's easy to chastise a married mother for this choice. But Romy has agency in the wrongdoing: she chooses to go after something she wants despite the risks to her life and career. Her active role "shifts power dynamics" to make audiences wonder why they questioned Romy so quickly. Is she actually... good? Is she changing her life for the better by acting dangerously?

Romy complicates the office affair trope, demonstrating what's at stake when gender, desire and power triangulate.

We won't deliver any spoilers (you're welcome). But the endings of these films promise a shared sense of grief. Going against the grain of femininity doesn't deliver scenes of princesses kissing their prince in the rain. For women who do dirty work to get what they want, they're typically isolated or punished. These stories draw them out of those dark corners, Truitt said. There is no outro song and a fuzzy feeling to go home with from the theater. If you're looking for that, go to the Hallmark channel, Truitt says. If you're ready for some wicked women, now's the time.

"There's no happy endings in these movies," Truitt said. "Some of these women end their stories on the run. Others are in tears. Some have partial redemption. But real life doesn't have happy endings."

Read more about films to see from Paste BN:

• She's a trans actress and "a warrior." Now, this "Emilia Pérez" star could make history.
• Here's Paste BN's full "Wicked" review.
• Yes, we were entertained by "Gladiator II."
• Mikey Madison wanted to do sex work "justice'" in "Anora." An Oscar could be next.

Thank you

I'll be embracing the cozy season to see all the films I can (I loved "Anora" the most so far!). Thank you for supporting our journalism with your subscription. Our work wouldn't be possible without you. 

Best wishes, 

Nicole Fallert