Tilda Cobham-Hervey plays Australian singer Helen Reddy in I Am Woman.South Australian Film Corp.
- I Am Woman
- Directed by Unjoo Moon
- Written by Emma Jensen
- Stars Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Evan Peters and Danielle Macdonald
- Classification N/A; 116 minutes
Alice Cooper once called the Australian singer Helen Reddy “the queen of housewife rock,” but there must have been a lot of housewives out there: Reddy was the Taylor Swift of 1973 and 1974, and sold 25 million albums in her career. So it’s not an insult to say that the new biopic I Am Woman plays like an easy-listening hit.
Reddy was the Taylor Swift of 1973 and 1974, and sold 25 million albums in her career.South Australian Film Corp.
First verse: In 1960s New York, single mother Helen (Tilda Cobham-Hervey) meets and marries hungry agent Jeff Wald (Evan Peters, who plays Quicksilver in the X-Men franchise). Second verse: Despite the sexism in the record business – and her own home – Helen pens the right song at the right moment and becomes the ubiquitous voice of the women’s movement (in the mid-70s, you could not turn on a radio or watch a television variety show without hearing her). Final verse: She loses everything yet finds her true voice. Coda: Helen’s lyrics still adorn placards at every human-rights rally and will until equality is achieved – i.e., forever. (Bet you’re singing them right now.)
Also like a good pop song: Though I saw every beat coming, I still got choked up at the end.
South Australian Film Corp.
I Am Woman is available digitally on-demand starting Sept. 11
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