I Am Woman

Greetings again from the darkness. Does penning and recording a feminist anthem warrant a film biopic? Well, when the singer is Helen Reddy and the song is "I Am Woman", the answer is a resounding yes. This is director Unjoo Moon's first narrative feature film, and she is working with a script from Emma Jensen (MARY SHELLEY, 2017). As with any biopic, its effectiveness comes down to the lead performance. Here, Tilda Cobham-Hervey is both strong and invincible as Ms. Reddy.

We first see a wide-eyed Helen Reddy walking through New York City clutching the hand of her very young daughter Traci after arriving from Australia in 1966. She's in pursuit of a recording contract, but instead ends up singing at a mostly empty nightclub and living in a roach-infested rundown hotel. It takes almost no time for her to experience multiple instances of sexism and chauvinism. With no prospects for a better life, Helen meets up with fellow ex-pat Lilian Roxon (Danielle Macdonald, PATTI CAKE$, 2017), a journalist who shows her the town and offers her friendship.

Lilian throws a party for Helen, and after locking eyes across the room, Helen meets Jeff Wald (Evan Peters, "American Horror Story"), an up and coming agent at William Morris. By 1968, Wald has convinced Helen that Los Angeles is the place to kick off her singing career, and along with Traci, they move into a beautiful home and fill it with typical California dreaming. Jeff's managing career starts to build, and Helen gets frustrated at his lack of attention to her career. There are some funny comparisons of Deep Purple, Tiny Tim, and Helen's singing styles, but finally Capitol Records gives her a shot at recording a single.

Helen's career takes off, as does her friend Lilian's, who becomes the 'Mother of Rock' with her Rock 'n Roll Encyclopedia, and subsequent reviews and articles. In fact, Ms. Roxon deserves a biopic or documentary highlighting her influence on rock journalism. As Helen puts out hit records, her husband Jeff is managing many successful acts. Money is pouring in (and out) and in contrast to Helen's common sense manner, Jeff partakes of drugs and alcohol to extremes. Of course, the key component of Helen's career and the movie is in regards to her writing the title song ... a song that the skeptical executives of Capitol Records said made her sound "too angry".

It was Lilian who introduced the women's movement to Helen, but Helen was inherently ambitious and strong-willed ... it ended up being the perfect match. Reddy supported the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), even as Phyllis Schlafly fought hard against it. Helen's 1972 song "I Am Woman" became a huge hit, and later the anthem for a movement. But Helen Reddy's story isn't all rainbows and unicorns, and despite a dose of clichés, and some overacting on the part of Peters, the movie does an admirable job showing how she reacted to the challenges.

Director Moon's husband Dion Beebe (Oscar winner for MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA, 2005) is the cinematographer, and he does nice work with the stage performances, as well as the more intimate moments. However, it's Ms. Cobham-Hervey who stands out. I've only previously seen her in HOTEL MUMBAI (2018), and she captures the determination and charisma of Helen Reddy. We see her strength as she instills life lessons in her kids, and goes toe-to-toe with her husband. It's an impressive performance.

The movie shows us Helen's 1982 Las Vegas act, and we hear most, if not all, of her hits, "Delta Dawn", "Leave Me Alone" (actually a pretty annoying song), "You and Me Against the World", "Angie Baby", and obviously, "I Am Woman". Later, in 1989, we see a grown up Traci talk her retired mother into performing her most famous song at the Washington DC rally of the National Organization of Women. It's quite a moment that encapsulates the empowerment that Helen Reddy devoted her life to. The movie doesn't go there, but it's unfortunate that Ms. Reddy has been afflicted with dementia since 2015. Like all great artists, her work will survive her.

My wife and I watched this at home on BD from our public library. We both grew up in the 1960s, we both are familiar with Helen Reddy and her music. But we never knew the backstory, her origins and the obstacles she encountered when she traveled from Australia to the USA to make a music career.

I find myself wondering how the younger (under 40) viewers react to this movie, we found it very interesting and a very worthwhile viewing. The acting is spot on and they found a young 20-something Australian singer to sing the Reddy songs.

Overall a very worthwhile movie.

I was a youngster living in Australia when Helen Reddy hit the scene and although she was kicking it in America she was proudly Australian and Australia was certainly proud to own her. I know her politics caused a huge stir and she was either loved or hated because of her politics. Either way she had presence and was a power house singer. Watch any you tube video and she commanded respect. None of this came across. I don't know Tilda's work but this felt far too big for her. Her build was tiny and lithe where as Helen Reddy was a strong looking solid woman. Check out her abs and broad shoulders on her performance 'I am Woman' on the Midnight special 1971. I wish I'd had abs like that and I'm a male! Also, Helen Reddy was a confident in your face singer and stared directly into the camera, often closing her eyes as she hit the soul part of the song. Tilda looked like she was timid and about to run off the stage, particularly when she sang in front of the crowd at the monument. So, nope. Her voice fell short too, reedy and lacking the force Helen Reddy was famous for. An unconvincing performance in my view. Helen Reddy did so much more than this movie showed and it's a shame her parts in movies and TV specials was left out. It only touched lightly on her politics so we never got to see her fierce avocation for women's rights. It was as if all she did was the songs and it wasn't.

This should have been a 2 or 3 part mini series or at least touched on other work on stage and screen. I felt a little cheated and to be honest, the story felt sanitised. No disrespect to to Tilda Cobham-Hervey who did her best. Unjoo Moon said she didn't know her before doing the movie, it showed.

This is an enjoyable watch, and showcases some of Helens great songs which I, as a thirty-something year old, was not already privy too. But it's very easy to see that this is very much sugar coated. I found myself far more intrigued by Lilian Roxons story...

I didn't know about Helen, and after watching this film it feels as if I do know her. I feel her passion and dedication to her empowering music. I enjoyed this film.