Every single time a movie comes out that has a new, refreshing, and more authentic female narrative fighting back against existing prejudices, it is a triumph all around the world. It doesn’t even always have to be the most motivational feminist or political outlook.
From goofy comedies and science fiction to thrillers and horror, stories that centre women and give their narratives importance are everywhere. Here are the top 25 such movies that brought us groundbreaking female narratives in cinema over the years.
25. The Substance (2024)
This graphic body-horror film turns a genre that has been shaped by the male gaze towards a distinctly female nightmare. When fading celebrity Elisabeth Sparkle is fired because of her age, she uses a black-market drug to create a younger version of herself, which has some disturbing side effects.
The movie holds up a mirror to society’s toxic obsession with women’s bodies, beauty and ageing. It is unsubtle, uncomfortable, and very gory, handling this issue with the exact severity it deserves.
Related: 10 Most Unlikeable Female Movie Characters Who Were Secretly Right
24. Poor Things (2023)
Set in Victorian London, ‘Poor Things’ tells the story of Bella Baxter, who is reanimated by eccentric scientist Dr Godwin Baxter. He grooms her in the ways of life, but soon she grows impatient to see the world and is led on a journey to discover her sexuality outside the walls her creator created.
The movie is very controversial among feminist critics. Some read it as an exploration of female self-actualisation. While others claim it is an overly sexualized story from a male gaze. But one thing is clear. ‘Poor Things’ is uncomfortable to watch, but for all the right reasons, as it brings up many essential conversations around the complexities of female narratives.
23. The Assistant (2019)
Over the course of a single day, the movie follows Jane, a junior assistant at a New York film production company. We see her seemingly ordinary office routines. Until gradually disturbing clues start to reveal a culture of workplace harassment and abuse so deeply embedded within the system.
The movie is claustrophobic, but it only makes Jane’s experience feel so painfully real as we see her soul slowly draining away. ‘The Assistant’ captures the quiet ways in which abuse functions to take away all sense of autonomy and self-worth from a woman.
22. The Favourite (2018)
Set in early 18th century Great Britain, ‘The Favourite’ follows two women competing for the affection and influence of Queen Anne. A powerful love triangle unfolds between chambermaid Abigail Hill, confidante Lady Sarah Churchill and the queen herself.
The movie is important for its historical revisionism through these three ladies to investigate sexuality, gender dynamics and women’s role within the court from a refreshing point of view. And the way each of these female characters is layered and played is remarkably complex.
21. Jennifer’s Body (2009)
The way ‘Jennifer’s Body’ was misunderstood upon its release is a commentary on its own. It tells the story of Jennifer, a demonically possessed high school student who goes on a killing spree, hunting down her male classmates and devouring their flesh.
The whole idea of a group of men sacrificing a girl’s body for their selfish desires is so uncomfortably familiar. It is an unusually fascinating revenge fantasy of a female character using her abused body against her abusers.
20. Promising Young Woman (2020)
One of the more recent additions in this list, ‘Promising Young Woman’ offers a female narrative that feels so new but relatable at the same time. It tells the story of Cassie, who visits local bars pretending to be drunk and allowing men to take her home, only to reveal that she is sober and confront their actions.
It is a striking example of a female vigilante film, a genre that doesn’t have many entries in it in the first place. With the distinctly unconventional lens of female rage, ‘Promising Young Woman’ confronts society’s dangerous misunderstanding of consent and accountability.
19. Gone Girl (2014)
When Amy Dunne mysteriously disappears on her fifth wedding anniversary, her husband Nick becomes the prime suspect and gets the attention of the media. ‘Gone Girl’ offered us a striking contrast between the male and female gaze, giving us a female character who remains iconic.
Amy Dunne brought the conversation of just how much men are allowed to become anything in movies, while women are only given a few tropes as choices. By allowing her to be unapologetically villainous, the film challenged the entire idea of female representation in popular culture.
18. Alien (1979)
Sigourney Weaver’s sci-fi heroine had to cross countless conventions to give us such an iconic female protagonist. Remarkably, a female character leads a blockbuster movie and her gender is never really the focus.
Ripley’s intelligence, resourcefulness and a strong moral compass define her instead. She faces off against a deadly alien monster with remarkable calmness while those around her unravel from distress. ‘Alien’ paved the way for three-dimensional female characters in popular culture.
In Case You Missed It: Top 10 Sci-Fi Movies That Champion Female Narrative
17. 9 To 5 (1980)
This giddy screwball comedy with a pointed edge follows three female office employees who band together to take revenge on their sexist, autocratic boss. The movie brilliantly brought conversations around workplace sexism and women’s labour to popular culture.
At the time of its release, the movie was dismissed as too silly to be taken as serious satire and was considered an enjoyable comedy. Yet that very light-heartedness helped popularise its message at the end.
16. A Question Of Silence (1982)
This Dutch drama remains a powerful litmus test for audiences’ ability to understand complex female narratives. Three women, strangers to each other, unexpectedly unite to murder a male shop assistant. When a female psychiatrist is assigned to assess their sanity, she starts to recognise the anger behind their actions.
At the end, in court, the psychiatrist, female witnesses and the defendants suddenly erupt into laughter. This baffles the male characters as well as those in the audience who failed to grasp just how provocatively the scene represents female rage and solidarity.
15. Persona (1966)
This Swedish psychological drama follows young nurse Alma and her patient Elisabet Vogler, a celebrated stage actress who has suddenly stopped speaking. They retreat to a cottage, where Alma cares for Elisabet but gradually struggles to distinguish herself from her patient.
The film only centres on the story of these two women, intimately exploring female psychology. It soon starts to reveal just how women hide parts of themselves to perform the roles expected by society. It is a revelation so true but deeply unsettling to acknowledge.
14. The Colour Purple (1985)
Celie’s coming-of-age story in ‘The Colour Purple’ intertwines themes of domestic violence, incest, child sexual abuse, poverty, racism and sexism, all through a deeply female perspective.
And the story extends far beyond her, bringing together an ensemble of female characters portrayed so authentically. The film is brutal and difficult to watch, yet it unapologetically embraces these realities. Then it shows these women finding strength, resisting oppression and discovering liberation.
13. The Day I Became A Woman (2000)
Following three Iranian women from different generations, ‘The Day I Became A Woman’ depicts the different stages of womanhood to reveal just how patriarchy functions in society and gets embedded in people’s minds from childhood.
The message is told with a light-hearted tone, but the film gradually builds up towards a very urgent call to action. It is funny, heartbreaking and visually breathtaking, portraying oppression in a way that is both intimate and universal.
12. Imitation Of Life (1959)
Initially, ‘Imitation of Life’ appears to be just another black-and-white melodrama. But a modern reassessment of the movie has revealed just how deeply it explores race, class and gender and that too with a distinct female perspective.
It follows two mothers and their respective daughters, all struggling with acceptance and belonging in different ways. Its female characters and relationships are especially complex and ask deep questions about identity, sacrifice and belonging.
11. Portrait Of A Lady On Fire (2019)
Set on a French island in the 18th Century, it tells the story of painter Marianne, who is commissioned to paint the wedding portrait of Héloïse, only for them to fall in love with each other. It is a defining work in LGBTQ+ cinema and the female gaze.
‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’ unapologetically ignores all the stereotypes queer female characters face in cinema, and fiercely portrays two very realistic women and their desires, circumstances and relationship. It is a beautiful study of just how different society looks through a woman’s eyes.
10. Thelma & Louise (1991)
Still one of the biggest pop-culture phenomena, ‘Thelma & Louise’ remains groundbreaking female representation. It follows the two women on the run after Louise shoots a man attempting to rape Thelma.
The fact that they knew they wouldn’t be believed and chose not to involve the police but to flee is still a disturbing reality. Their trip becomes an escape from the suffocation of patriarchy, and a symbol of the desire and determination to live life on one’s own terms.
9. One Sings, The Other Doesn’t (1977)
Set against the women’s movement in 1970s France, the film follows two women across fourteen years, exploring motherhood, abortion rights and personal freedom. It is a lyrical but harrowing and very essential story about the exploitation of female body.
Some parts of the movie do feel dated, but it’s a no-nonsense approach to reproductive rights. It is also a pure-hearted celebration of female solidarity and its groundbreaking and revolutionary powers.
8. Daughters Of The Dust (1991)
Set in 1902, ‘Daughters of the Dust‘ follows three generations of Gullah women from the Peazant family on Saint Helena Island, South Carolina, as they prepare to migrate from the rural South to the North. The film completely rejects the Western male gaze to solely focus on black women’s experience, ancestral memory and cultural identity.
It is a film unlike anything anyone has seen before, proving that coloured female narratives are not only beautiful but essential. Rather than explaining its culture to outsiders, the film invites the audience to enter it on its own terms.
7. The Watermelon Woman (1996)
Cheryl, a young Black lesbian working at a video store, sets out to make a film about Fae Richards, a forgotten Black actress from the 1930s. Blending the personal and the political, ‘The Watermelon Woman’ celebrates Black women sidelined in film history while fiercely questioning how their stories were represented.
Its innovative mix of archival material as well as recreated footage also makes the film very ahead of its time. At the time of its release, the film received serious criticism for its lesbian sex scene, which even brought its funding to be questioned. Yet, today it is one of the most important feminist films of all time.
6. Cléo From 5 To 7 (1962)
A deceptively simple portrait of womanhood, ‘Cléo from 5 to 7’ follows the young woman on an evening as she awaits the results of a medical test which will possibly confirm a diagnosis of stomach cancer.
We quietly observe her life between 5 pm and 6:30 pm. Rather than any melodrama, the film dives into Cléo’s psyche, exploring her insecurities, worries and struggles all with remarkable sensitivity, honesty and without any judgement.
5. Vagabond (1985)
This French drama film gave us one of the most unapologetically gruff female protagonists. When the frozen body of a young woman is discovered in a ditch in the French countryside, the film reconstructs her final weeks through encounters with people who crossed paths with her.
The film completely refuses the conventional image of women. Instead of warm and maternal, we find a protagonist who is independent, difficult, and uncompromising, and she is portrayed without any judgement.
4. A Woman Under The Influence (1974)
One of cinema’s fiercest female portrayals, ‘A Woman Under the Influence’ follows Mabel, a housewife struggling to keep everything together while drinking and living on the edge. Her increasingly unusual behaviour creates conflict with her blue-collar husband.
The movie is one of a kind in the way it reveals the pressures of being a wife and a mother. It is raw and deeply personal in its portrayal of womanhood, social expectations and emotional strains.
3. Daisies (1966)
A gleefully anarchic film told from a distinctly female perspective, ‘Daisies’ follows two young women, both named Marie, as they embark on a series of bizarre, rebellious pranks. Rather than simply depicting women resisting political oppression, the film embraces mischief as rebellion itself.
The film subverted all kinds of stereotypes and expectations at the time to create such provocative and unconventional heroines. It became so controversial that it was banned in theatres and from export.
2. The Passion Of Joan Of Arc (1928)
Based on the actual records of Joan of Arc’s trial, this French silent film depicts her captivity, interrogation and execution. Renée Jeanne Falconetti’s legendary performance was the start of feminist acting.
The film beautifully portrays Joan’s fear, faith, as well as determination as countless unsympathetic men fail to intimidate her into fear or silence. It is a simple yet powerful story about inner strength and resistance of a woman when she is considered powerless in the eyes of society.
1. Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)
A widowed housewife trapped in a mundane but physically and emotionally tolling routine, who is rendered invisible by social order, finds herself at the centre of this groundbreaking film. Through long takes and static camerawork, the film turns domestic labour into the story itself.
It is a homage to countless nameless mothers and homemakers everywhere. The movie remarkably validates female frustration, something that almost always seems to find itself invisible in popular culture.
You Might Also Like To Read: Top 10 Female Characters Who Were Ahead Of Their Time
