2025 has been the year of powerful women ruling our screens – from soul-stirring dramas to thrillers that keep you at the edge of your seat. If you enjoy watching stories that showcase women in lead roles, these seven women-centric movies, released in 2025, should be on your watchlist. These movies prove that women are at the forefront – bringing a mix of emotions, humour and suspense. Read on…
entertainment
Materialists
Directed by writer-director Celine Song, ‘Materialists’ is a sharp rom-com about a New York matchmaker caught in a love triangle.
The film follows the story of a successful matchmaker, played by Dakota Johnson who finds herself juggles a wealthy financier and her ex, a struggling actor.
Attending a past client’s wedding, she meets Harry Castillo (Pedro Pascal), a so-called “unicorn” because he checks all the right boxes in the dating game: handsome, confident, intelligent, and oh-so-rich. But Harry isn’t interested in becoming an Adore client - he’s only interested in dating Lucy, and they soon become a power couple. But matters get complicated with the reemergence of John Pitts (Chris Evans), Lucy’s perennially poor ex-boyfriend.
The film’s ‘90s vibe and stellar cast,
including Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans, make it a standout. It’s a fresh take on love and ambition.
Die My Love
‘Die, My Love’ is the new thriller from Scottish filmmaker Lynne Ramsay, which adapts the 2017 novel of the same name by Ariana Harwicz.
Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Robert Pattinson and LaKeith Stanfield, the film is set in rural America and is a portrait of a woman (Lawrence) who is struggling with motherhood and her sanity and ends up being engulfed by love and madness. Pattinson plays her husband, and Stanfield, her lover.
An art-house character piece buoyed by Jennifer Lawrence’s raw performance, ‘Die My Love’ daringly explores postpartum psychosis but ultimately perishes under its languid pace and emotional onslaught. It is a film driven by primal urges.
A House of Dynamite
Another great film by Bigelow, someone who knows how to tell stories with flair and talent.
Packed with the complex inner workings of Washington, ‘A House of Dynamite’ is a psychological thriller in which not a single drop of blood is spilled, but in which...ten million lives could be lost. Kathryn Bigelow’s direction makes this film feel authentic, raw and thrilling. Rebecca Ferguson is easily a standout and the entire ensemble is fantastic.
Holland
‘Holland’ is a gripping psychological thriller featuring Nicole Kidman as Nancy, a teacher who begins to suspect that her seemingly perfect husband, played by Matthew Macfadyen, is leading a double life. As she delves deeper into his secrets with the help of a colleague, portrayed by Gael García Bernal, she uncovers shocking truths that put everything she knows to the test. Directed by Mimi Cave, the film combines suspense with unexpected twists that keep you on edge. Set in a picturesque Michigan town, the story twists relentlessly.
‘Holland’ presents the ultimate logic of nature. It treats us with two parallel stories one could be considered the dramatized fiction and the other on our fixation to comfort and negligence of happiness.
The life list
Based on Lori Nelson Spielman’s 2013 bestseller, ‘The Life List’ is adapted and confidently directed by Adam Brooks. In a world filled with great action blockbuster or superhero films, it's hard to find a simple and heartwarming story, well ‘The Life List’ offer us something cosy to watch. ‘The Life List’ follows a young woman named Alex Rose who goes on her journey to complete the life list, the movie takes off and showcases the importance of getting out of the comfort zone to take on things one may love or hate entirely.
Starring Sofia Carson, Kyle Allen and Connie Britton, ‘The Life List’ works on several levels – as a romantic comedy, a nudge to put your relationship with your mother in perspective, and as an evaluation checklist on your life so far – where you were, where you are now, and where are you going.
Bridget Jones:
Mad About the Boy
‘Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy’is a delightful romantic comedy that brings back Renée Zellweger as the beloved Bridget Jones. Directed by Michael Morris, this installment explores Bridget’s life as a widowed single mother, juggling the chaos of parenthood, work, and dipping her toes back into the dating scene. With her trademark humor and charm, Bridget navigates new relationships and unexpected connections, all while dealing with her past. The film reunites original cast members Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, and Emma Thompson while introducing fresh faces like Chiwetel Ejiofor and Isla Fisher. Zellweger brings a wonderful mix of vulnerability, wit, and self-deprecation to the role, ensuring that Bridget remains the charming and relatable character audiences adore. Underneath pratfalls and slapstick moments is a more mature, poignant movie about moving on after the devastating loss of a loved one.
Hamnet
Hamnet is a powerful story of love and loss that inspired the creation of Shakespeare's timeless masterpiece, ‘Hamlet’.
Directed by Oscar-winning Chloé Zhao, Hamnet reimagines the story of Agnes – the wife of the world’s most famous writer, William Shakespeare – as she comes to terms with the loss of her son, Hamnet. “It is a story of the bond between twins, and of a marriage pushed to the brink by grief… and an unforgettable reimagining of a boy whose life has been all but forgotten, but whose name was given to one of the most celebrated plays ever written,” reads the novel’s synopsis.
The film stars Paul Mescal as a character based loosely on a young William Shakespeare, and Jessie Buckley as his wife, Anne Hathaway (named Agnes in the book). It is Jessie Buckley’s performance that truly drives this grief-stricken tale, and the manner in which she ultimately finds a sense of solace and catharsis through art feels revelatory.
