Sloan de Forest

Dynamic Dames from Sloan De Forest is a fun compilation of fifty roles that highlight strong and groundbreaking women, both the characters and the actresses.

This is a great looking book as well as being an interesting read. No, there isn't a lot of new information, but then, that isn't the point in a book like this. This does, however, offer some insight on what might make a dynamic character. The obvious choices are here, such as Uma Thurman as The Bride and Gal Gadot as Diana Prince, but there are also the ones that don't jump out as being so dynamic at first glance but make perfect sense when put in context, such as Audrey Hepburn as Sister Luke and Barbra Streisand as Fanny Brice. Bringing some of the subtle examples of strength and independence to the fore is a strength of this book.

But what truly makes this a wonderful book is the sheer joy of reading about all these splendid performances as well as a little about each actor. I recently read the Hepburn biography and coupled with the role mentioned above made it even more impactful.

Definitely a great addition to any library of film books. Will I put this next to Bazin or Cavell or any others of that sort? No. But it will have a place because not everything has to be overly analytical (though I do love my books of that type). This is a fun list, one that could be debated and discussed, and one that includes some very astute social commentary, but this is first and foremost a book for fans who enjoy reading about and looking at pictures of classics both old and new.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.… (mehr)