Female-lead Movies You Are Sleeping On (but Shouldn’t)
There are so many great films led by women that slipped past crowded release calendars and busy watchlists. Some won festival prizes and critical acclaim while others built quiet reputations on streaming and word of mouth. Each one gives a lead actress a full story to carry, with strong writing and craft around her.
This list brings together thrillers, dramas, horror gems, and international standouts. You will find intimate character pieces, striking debuts, and a few bold swings that show how much range female-centered storytelling really has. If something here is new to you, that is the point. Add a few to your next movie night and discover a favorite you missed.
‘Widows’ (2018)
Viola Davis anchors a Chicago heist story that begins with a robbery gone wrong and a group of wives left with debt and threats. The plot tracks their plan to pull off one high risk job using a notebook of details left behind, with careful attention to logistics, politics, and neighborhood power.
The film adapts a British series and brings in a loaded ensemble that includes Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, Cynthia Erivo, and Daniel Kaluuya. Director Steve McQueen and writer Gillian Flynn build sharp character work into every beat, with location shooting that roots each scene in real streets and real stakes.
‘The Farewell’ (2019)
Awkwafina plays a Chinese American writer who learns her grandmother has a terminal diagnosis that the family has chosen not to share. A wedding is arranged as a reason to gather, and the story follows the return to Changchun, the small moments with relatives, and the tension between cultures and customs.
Writer director Lulu Wang based the script on her own family and balances humor with quiet observation. The cast features Zhao Shuzhen as the grandmother and a mix of Mandarin and English dialogue that reflects how families actually speak, with handheld camerawork that keeps the focus on faces.
‘Leave No Trace’ (2018)
Thomasin McKenzie portrays a teen living with her veteran father in a park on the edge of Portland. After authorities intervene, they try to adapt to shelters and rural life, and the film follows their attempts to stay together while wanting different things.
Debra Granik directs with a focus on daily routines, survival skills, and the systems that attempt to help but often cannot. The production used real locations in Oregon and Washington and worked with nonprofessional actors in supporting roles to ground the story.
‘A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night’ (2014)
Sheila Vand plays a vampire who moves through the streets of a lonely Iranian town at night in a chador and sneakers. The plot follows her encounters with a small time dealer, a father and son tangled in trouble, and a young man who meets her at a costume party.
Shot in black and white and in Persian, the film was produced in California with sets that reimagine a desolate oil town. Director Ana Lily Amirpour blends western and noir influences with a minimalist soundtrack and long takes that give the city its own character.
‘Can You Ever Forgive Me?’ (2018)
Melissa McCarthy plays writer Lee Israel, who turns to forging letters from famous authors when her biography career stalls. The story covers how she learns the trade, the collectors who buy the fakes, and the friendship with Jack Hock that both enables and complicates the scheme.
Based on a memoir, the film recreates New York bookshops, bars, and apartments with careful period detail. Richard E. Grant co stars and the script examines the mechanics of literary fraud, from typewriters and paper stock to provenance and dealer networks.
‘Destroyer’ (2018)
Nicole Kidman stars as an LAPD detective whose past undercover case resurfaces when an old gang figure appears again. The investigation takes her across the city as she tries to protect her daughter and resolve unfinished business from a botched operation.
Director Karyn Kusama uses a structure that moves between present day and earlier events, with prosthetic work and lighting that reshape Kidman’s look. The film was shot across Los Angeles locations that include the river, valley neighborhoods, and a desert outpost tied to the original crime.
‘Colette’ (2018)
Keira Knightley portrays French novelist Sidonie Gabrielle Colette and her marriage to Henry Gauthier Villars, known as Willy. The plot follows her ghostwriting work on the Claudine books, the public success that follows, and her fight for authorship and independence.
Filmed across France, the production rebuilds Belle Époque settings with detailed costumes and salons. The script draws on letters and historical records to track contracts, stage performances, and the legal and social barriers Colette faced in publishing and on the theater circuit.
‘The Fits’ (2016)
Royalty Hightower plays Toni, a young boxer who becomes fascinated by the drill team at her community center in Cincinnati. As she trains with the dancers, the group experiences mysterious fainting episodes that spread member to member.
Director Anna Rose Holmer shoots with a documentary style that focuses on bodies in motion and the spaces teens inhabit after school. The cast is largely drawn from local teams and the soundtrack uses percussion to echo the rhythms of practice, performance, and breath.
‘Beast’ (2017)
Jessie Buckley stars as a woman living with a controlling family on the island of Jersey who falls for a stranger under suspicion. The plot weaves a police hunt for a local killer with a relationship that challenges loyalties and self image.
Director Michael Pearce uses coastal landscapes and cliffs to mirror shifting trust and isolation. The production leans on natural light and a spare score, and brings in Johnny Flynn and Geraldine James to round out a tight ensemble around Buckley’s lead.
‘Mustang’ (2015)
Five sisters in a Turkish village face stricter rules after a neighbor misreads innocent play with classmates. The family begins arranging marriages and limiting contact with the outside world, and the sisters find ways to resist and plan an escape.
Director Deniz Gamze Ergüven worked with a cast of newcomers and filmed on location to capture village life. The film examines guardianship, schooling, and women’s rights in everyday detail, and it was selected as Turkey’s submission for international awards with broad festival support.
‘Never Rarely Sometimes Always’ (2020)
Sidney Flanigan plays a Pennsylvania teen who travels to New York with her cousin for medical care not available at home. The story follows clinic visits, paperwork, and long hours in bus stations and waiting rooms with a focus on practical steps and obstacles.
Director Eliza Hittman worked with real clinics to ensure accuracy and uses handheld cinematography to keep events immediate. Talia Ryder co stars, and the soundtrack is spare, letting ambient city sounds and quiet conversations carry the mood.
‘The Nightingale’ (2018)
Aisling Franciosi portrays an Irish convict in colonial Tasmania who pursues a British officer after a brutal attack. She partners with an Aboriginal tracker named Billy and the film follows their journey through bushland and frontier settlements.
Director Jennifer Kent researched regional languages and history, working with consultants to represent Palawa culture and military ranks. The production shot in dense forests and used a square frame that tightens focus on faces, with period firearms and uniforms sourced from specialists.
‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’ (2019)
Noémie Merlant plays a painter commissioned to create a wedding portrait of a young woman who refuses to pose. The assignment requires observation during daily walks, and the film tracks the creation of the painting and the relationship that develops.
Director Céline Sciamma worked with artist Hélène Delmaire to produce the on screen paintings and sketches seen in each stage. The film uses a coastal house in Brittany as its primary location, with candlelit scenes and choral music by voices rather than orchestral score.
‘Little Woods’ (2018)
Tessa Thompson leads a drama about two sisters in a North Dakota oil boomtown facing eviction and limited options. The plot covers short term jobs, unpaid bills, and a risky decision to cross the border for medicine and income.
Director Nia DaCosta emphasizes the economic pressures of rural living, including long drives, rig schedules, and clinic access. Lily James co stars and the film uses real town locations, motel rooms, and truck stops to map out the choices the sisters confront.
‘Thoroughbreds’ (2017)
Olivia Cooke and Anya Taylor Joy play former friends in suburban Connecticut who reconnect through a tutoring arrangement. Their conversations grow darker as they consider removing a stepfather from the picture, and they seek help from a small time hustler.
Shot largely inside a single house, the film uses precise blocking and a percussive score to build unease. It features one of the final performances by Anton Yelchin and focuses tightly on dialogue, etiquette drills, and carefully planned meetings.
‘Atlantics’ (2019)
Mame Bineta Sane plays a young woman in Dakar whose boyfriend disappears after a construction job leaves workers unpaid. Strange events begin to ripple through the community, and a detective’s inquiry reveals a connection to the missing men.
Director Mati Diop blends romance, labor issues, and elements of the supernatural with coastal imagery of the Atlantic. The film premiered at Cannes and later reached a wider audience through streaming, with Wolof and French dialogue and a score by Fatima Al Qadiri.
‘Queen of Katwe’ (2016)
Madina Nalwanga portrays Phiona Mutesi, a Ugandan girl who learns chess through a local program run by a coach and community leader. The narrative follows tournaments, family decisions about schooling, and the growth of a skill that opens new paths.
Directed by Mira Nair and filmed in Kampala and Katwe, the production cast local residents alongside Lupita Nyong’o and David Oyelowo. The chess scenes use real game positions and coaching drills, and the film draws on a nonfiction book about Mutesi’s life.
‘Wild Rose’ (2018)
Jessie Buckley stars as a Glasgow singer who dreams of a career in country music while balancing work and family. The story follows bar gigs, demo recordings, and a trip that tests what success might require.
Directed by Tom Harper, the film features original songs performed by Buckley and recorded with musicians in Nashville and the UK. Julie Walters plays her mother and the soundtrack was released alongside the film, with tracks that chart the character’s progress.
‘The Assistant’ (2019)
Julia Garner plays an office assistant at a New York production company over the course of a single day. The film follows tasks like scheduling, travel bookings, invoice approvals, and the unease that grows as she notices troubling patterns.
Director Kitty Green uses a restrained approach that focuses on emails, phone calls, and small interactions that reveal how power protects itself. The production recreated a real office environment with shared printers, bland conference rooms, and a workflow that feels specific and lived in.
‘Kim Ji-young, Born 1982’ (2019)
Jung Yu mi portrays a woman in Seoul navigating marriage, childcare, and a return to work after leaving her job. Episodes from her life show casual bias at the office, expectations within the family, and the strain of balancing roles.
Adapted from a bestseller, the film led to broad conversations about gender in contemporary Korea. Gong Yoo co stars and the production shows apartments, cafes, and daycare centers that reflect everyday routines, with a score that keeps the focus on dialogue.
‘Shiva Baby’ (2020)
Rachel Sennott stars as a college student who attends a funeral gathering with her parents and finds her secret life colliding with family friends. The story takes place largely in one house as overlapping conversations and chance arrivals turn into a pressure cooker.
Director Emma Seligman expands on a short of the same name and keeps the camera close to faces as tensions rise. The ensemble includes Molly Gordon, Polly Draper, and Fred Melamed, with a string heavy score that matches quick dialogue and tight spaces.
‘Saint Maud’ (2019)
Morfydd Clark plays a private nurse who becomes fixated on saving the soul of a former dancer under her care in a seaside town. The film traces her routines, prayers, and encounters with coworkers and neighbors as her isolation grows.
Director Rose Glass crafts a psychological study that uses practical effects and sound design to suggest blurred lines between belief and perception. The production uses real apartments and hospital corridors, and the makeup team built subtle transformations over the course of the story.
‘Raw’ (2016)
Garance Marillier plays a first year veterinary student who experiences an unusual awakening after a hazing ritual. The plot follows classes, dorm life, and a relationship with her older sister as impulses become harder to control.
Director Julia Ducournau shot at a veterinary school and used special effects makeup created for close range cameras. The soundtrack mixes club tracks with atmospheric cues and the film explores family dynamics through lab work, anatomy lessons, and campus traditions.
‘The Souvenir’ (2019)
Honor Swinton Byrne leads an autobiographical drama about a film student in London who falls into a consuming relationship with an older man. The story tracks classes, early projects, and the slow recognition of secrets that affect both lives.
Director Joanna Hogg uses a diary like structure and stages scenes in recreated flats filled with period details from her own archives. Tilda Swinton appears in a supporting role and the film’s second part continues the character’s development in later work.
‘Colossal’ (2016)
Anne Hathaway plays a woman who discovers that her actions in a park correspond to the movements of a giant creature appearing in Seoul. The film follows attempts to test the connection and the fallout when others get involved.
Directed by Nacho Vigalondo, the production mixes character drama with visual effects that place the monster into cityscapes. The cast includes Jason Sudeikis and the story uses a small town bar, a childhood home, and a playground as key locations that tie the mystery together.
Share the titles you are adding to your watchlist in the comments so everyone can swap recommendations.
