REVIEW: ‘I’m Your Woman’ is watchable, but weakened by story issues

“I’m Your Woman” is a fairly entertaining crime drama, but the story does get clunky at times.

Rachel Brosnahan plays the lead character Jean in the film. She is married to Eddie (Bill Heck) a man who by all appearances is associated with organized crime. At the movie’s onset, Eddie comes home with a baby, stating that it’s his and Jean’s son.

Jean begins caring for the baby, but her typical days of motherhood are shattered when she is told that Eddie has gone missing by one of his friends, Cal (Arinze Kene). Now she must survive with her child as the criminal underground applies pressure on her.

The character Jean has a compelling arc, but the story that showcases her journey does the movie no favors. While Jean becomes a stronger person as she has to survive more dangerous encounters, the narrative structure doesn’t bring the movie around her together in a satisfying way.

The plot develops in a rather incoherent fashion. The movie does have a three act structure, but there’s a lack of the story building up to something, especially in the second act.

This is partially because of director and writer Julia Hart’s constantly inserting reveals where Jean is given new information. It seems like these reveals were supposed to be bombshells for the audience, but all it does is raise the question of why the information was being withheld from Jean in the first place.

It comes across as though the many reveals were just inserted to pad the film’s runtime up to two hours, when it really didn’t need to be that long. This could have been a better watch had it been tighter.

Still, the movie earns points for Jean’s journey of becoming accustomed to the dangers of organized crime.  It’s a tough road for her and watching her resolve and determination can keep a viewer invested.

Brosnahan lends a captivating performance to the screen and her work rescues the movie quite  bit. The character’s growth over the course of the picture is convincingly displayed by Brosnahan.

The movie also deserves credit for its 70s aesthetic. The film nicely captures the era and as a result there’s a good atmosphere to enjoy.

“I’m Your Woman” could have used some time trimming and story tightening, but Brosnahan’s performance strengthens the feature. There’s enough here to warrant a 3 out of 5.