Cate Shortland, honors the Marvel Cinematic universe with “Black Widow”.
After a series of COVID-19 related delays, Cate Shortland’s “Black Widow” is finally in the theatres a year after its intended release date.
Plot Summary:
This action-packed spy thriller follows the events in Captain America: Civil War. Natasha Romanoff a.k.a. Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) is still on the run after aiding Steve Rogers, a.k.a. Captain America (Chris Evans). She is now being hunted down by the US government. The same government that turned her into the “Black Widow”. Natasha decides to stop running from her past, and travels to Budapest, where she reconnects with her “sisters”, fellow Widows Yelena (Florence Pugh), Melina (Rachel Weisz), and their father figure, Red Guardian (David Harbour). While fixing broken relationships, Natasha’s former bosses send a new agent, Taskmaster, to pursue her and bring her back “home”.
About Cate Shortland’s career:
Cate Shortland’s career started quite slow, but that didn’t stop her from doing her job successfully. Between 1995 and 200, she created several award-winning short films, including Strap on Olympia (1995), Pentuphouse (1998) and Flower Girl (2000). She also directed the Australian television film, The Silence (2006). Since then, the director has created many amazing films. She is mostly known for Lore (2012), Somersault (2004) and Berlin Syndrome (2017). None of these previous films particularly resemble “Black Widow”. So, the question is, why was she chosen?
Cate Shortland directing Black Widow:
Cate Shortland is the first solo female director of an MCU film. “Black Widow” makes a radical new female-dominated action space suddenly seem possible and it is mostly thanks to Cate Shortland. Shortland is eager to ensure that her success as a director as well as that of other female creators is something that will continue in the Marvel world. “I think now is a chance for women to kind of kick the door down and hold it open for other women to come through. We’ve sort of got this opportunity and we’ve got to grab it because, if we don’t push for it, I don’t think it’s going to happen,” Cate Shortland’s feminist side has definitely come through in this film.
Shortland also explained during an interview with IndieWire that what interested her was opening the Pandora’s box of the character’s past. “She’s a survivor and I think that’s what inspires others. She’s the only Avenger that doesn’t have these superpowers. But she uses her intelligence, her training.” The female director has made Scarlet Johansen look incredibly strong and in control.
Why Cate Shortland was chosen:
Scarlett Johansson, the star of the movie, actually personally requested that she be the director! The actress even called Shortland in an attempt to persuade her to accept the job after she initially turned it down. Scarlet Johansson explained to Marvel how she needed someone to direct her that has made a masterpiece in her career. For the actress, “Lore” was as close to a masterpiece that any director could ever achieve. Marvel followed Johansson’s advice and thank goodness for that! Now we are waiting at the edges of our seats to see what Cate Shortland does next.
