Violent Women in Contemporary Cinema

Violent Women in Contemporary Cinema explores the representation of homicidal women in six contemporary films: Antichrist (Lars von Trier, 2009), Trouble Every Day (Claire Denis, 2001), Baise-moi (Coralie Thinh Thi and Virginie Despentes, 2000), Heavenly Creatures (Peter Jackson, 1994), Monster (Patty Jenkins, 2003) and The Reader (Stephen Daldry, 2008). Violent women in cinema pose an exciting challenge to viewers—when women kill, they overturn cultural ideas of ’typical’ feminine behaviour. Janice Loreck explores how cinema creatively depicts the violent woman in response to this challenge. Departing from earlier studies that focus on popular and exploitation cinema, the book takes a unique focus on violent women in art films and other critically-distinguished forms. It explores the appeal that the violent woman holds for spectators within this viewing context. Furthermore, the book also examines how cinema responds to the cultural construction of the violent woman as a conundrum and enigma.