Movie Review

I'm Your Woman freshens up '70s crime dramas with unusual focus

Women in gritty, 1970s-era crime dramas are generally defined by the illegal activities of their husbands/boyfriends. They’re often either knowingly complicit in the crimes the man commits (if not doing the crimes themselves), or afraid and unwilling to stand up to him. It’s rare that a story occupies a middle ground between those two sides, something that I’m Your Woman does quite well.

Jean (Rachel Brosnahan) is married to Eddie (Bill Heck), a criminal whose activity is ill-defined for much of the film. What we do know is that, at the beginning of the film, he brings Jean a baby of unknown origin, and disappears almost immediately afterward. Cal (Arinzé Kene), an associate of Eddie’s, soon arrives to help Jean go into hiding, as Eddie’s disappearance has put both her and the baby in danger.

The rest of the film is spent with her on the run, never sure to know who to trust, even Cal since she just met him. She’s also learning to be a mother on the fly, dealing with a series of new revelations about Eddie, and trying to become a self-sufficient person for the first time in her life.

What writer/director Julia Hart (with help from co-writer Jordan Horowitz) makes clear from the beginning is that Jean is not your typical damsel in distress. She’s never hysterical or unable to handle challenges thrown at her, but neither is she a steely, take-charge kind of person. Her demeanor lies somewhere in the middle, willing to accept the things she cannot change but always on the hunt for answers to her questions.

Centering the film on the criminal’s wife and a henchman is an unusual move that pays dividends. Those are both the type of characters that are usually only in a few scenes or just pop up in the background. But Hart and Horowitz give both of them rich stories that become much more interesting than whatever is happening in the criminal underworld that remains a threat for most of the film.

Hart and her team set the scene and tone well without ever getting into clichés or stereotypes. From the sets to the costumes to the music, they strike a nice balance, putting the audience in the frame of mind necessary for this type of film while also offering something new. It’s unusual for a ‘70s-set movie to feel fresh, but that goal is accomplished here.

Brosnahan has been dynamite as the lead in Amazon’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, but this is the first time she’s been given a plum movie role like this, and she knocks it out of the park. Kene has had bit parts in movies like Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and How to Build a Girl, but his performance here should guarantee many more lead roles in the future. Also of note: The twins Jameson and Justin Charles combine to make one extremely cute baby, something that shouldn’t matter but enhances the movie notably whenever their character is on screen.

I’m Your Woman is a surprise of a film, one that would normally get lost amid myriad other crime movies, but something that stands out thanks to its solid storytelling and two great performances (three if you count the babies). Attention to detail matters, and everyone involved should be commended for their work.

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I'm Your Woman will open in limited theaters and debut on Amazon Prime Video on December 11.

Arinzé Kene in I'm Your Woman.

$Arinz\u00e9 Kene in I'm Your Woman$

Photo by Wilson Webb/courtesy of Amazon Studios

Arinzé Kene in I'm Your Woman.

movies

weekend event planner

Here are the top 14 things to do in Houston this weekend

Steve Aoki

Steve Aoki/Facebook

See Steve Aoki in concert at NOHO in EaDo.

This weekend, it’ll be a brand new year. Although some may be partied out after New Year's Eve, some cool stuff will be happening.

Welcome 2026 with a festive brunch. Music from Nat King Cole and Steve Aoki will be played on Friday night. Saturday begins with a matcha pop-up and ends with a salute to goth/darkwave at Wonky Power. And, on Sunday, you can get in a fun run/walk and see the Thin White Duke on the big screen.

Thursday, January 1

The Union Kitchen presents New Year’s Day Brunch
The Union Kitchen is kicking off 2026 with a celebratory New Year’s Day brunch at all Houston-area locations. Customers will enjoy festive brunch sips, including $2.50 mimosas, $4 Bloody Marys, and $4 bellinis. Additionally, in true Southern tradition, the restaurant will offer cabbage, black-eyed peas, and cornbread — the classic good-luck trio for prosperity in the year ahead. Walk-ins are welcome, but reservations are encouraged. 10 am.

EZ’s Liquor Lounge presents New Year’s Day Hangover Brunch
For those who know they’ll be party-hopping this New Year’s Eve, here's a place to go and deal with that gnarly hangover the day after. The annual Hangover Brunch will feature fried chicken, biscuits, champagne specials, and caviar at cost. 11 am.

MKT Bar presents New Year's Day Brunch
While some people are known to eat black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day – for good luck and prosperity for the year ahead – head over to MKT Bar (located inside Phoenicia Specialty Foods' location downtown) and get their famous chicken and waffles for half-off. The Danielle Reich and Bruce Saunders Quintet will also be on the premises, performing some eclectic, jazz/pop numbers. Noon.

Friday, January 2

Punch Line Houston presents Sam Jay
Stand-up comic Sam Jay will be doing a two-night stint at Punch Line Houston this weekend. The Emmy-nominated former Saturday Night Live writer has been seen on HBO’s Pause with Sam Jay, a weekly late-night series on which she served as host and executive producer, as well as Bust Down, the Peacock sitcom she co-created and co-starred in. Recently, she did her solo show Sam Jay: We the People at the Edinburgh Festival and New York’s Lincoln Center Theater. 7 and 9:15 pm.

Houston Symphony presents "A Nat King Cole New Year"
The Jones Center for the Performing Arts will have an “Unforgettable” start to 2026 as Byron Stripling, Denzal Sinclaire, and the Houston Symphony Big Band perform the timeless hits of Nat King Cole, along with well-known songs by other jazz legends. The program will include songs like “Mona Lisa,” “Nature Boy,” “When I Fall in Love,” “Just One of Those Things,” and more. (We wonder if we’ll get Cole’s “The Christmas Song” one last time.) 7:30 pm (2 pm Sunday).

Theatre Southwest presents Murder on the Orient Express
Agatha Christie’s legendary, literary masterwork will be brought to the stage at Theatre Southwest. On a train traveling through Europe, a wealthy American tycoon is found dead in his compartment, the door locked from the inside. Enter world-famous detective Hercule Poirot, who must navigate a train full of suspects and solve the murder before the killer strikes again. Through Saturday, January 17. 8 pm (3 pm Sunday).

NOTO Houston presents Steve Aoki
Did you know that DJ/producer Steve Aoki invented the trend known as “caking”? That’s when he throws a huge cake out into the crowd while playing Autoerotique’s “Turn Up the Volume,” a song whose video features people getting splattered by exploding cakes. We bring this up because Aoki will be doing a late-night DJ set at NOTO Houston, and there’s a very good chance people in the crowd will get hit with a very delicious dessert. Stay in the back to avoid getting icing on your outfit. 10 pm.

Saturday, January 3

Kazzan Ramen & Bar and Tomo Matcha Pop-Up
Houston’s ramen scene is getting a green tea glow-up. Kazzan Ramen & Bar is teaming up with Tomo Matcha for a one-day pop-up this weekend. For the collaboration, guests who dine in at Kazzan Ramen will receive 20% off Tomo matcha, and customers who purchase a matcha drink will enjoy 20% off their meal. If you can’t make it, Tomo will also do a Sunday-afternoon pop-up at GLO Pilates. 11 am.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents Resurrection
Bi Gan (whose Long Day’s Journey into Night screened at MFAH in 2018) directs this ambitious, 160-minute, sci-fi detective movie starring Chinese superstar Jackson Yee (Better Days) and actress Shu Qi (The Assassin). In a future where humanity has surrendered its ability to dream in exchange for immortality, an outcast finds illusion, nightmarish visions, and beauty in an intoxicating world of his own making. 2 pm.

Archway Gallery presents June Woest: "Weather Inside Out" opening reception
Archway Gallery will present an exhibit of new work by June Woest that captures the interplay between photography, sculpture, and AI. "Weather Inside Out" explores Woest’s experiences with the unpredictable nature of the weather by challenging the notion that we are helpless against it. Her works are an invitation to embrace change and find comfort in the unpredictable.Through Thursday, February 5. 5 pm.

Wonky Power presents Dia de los Darks
The first Dia de los Darks of the year kicks off this weekend, bringing a night powered by darkwave, goth, rock en español, and cumbia. Scheduled to perform are El Turko Sonidero, DJ Fredster and guitar-playing masked man Orpheus Von Doom. Expect haunting beats, immersive visual installations lighting up the night. A night market will be open late with art, fashion, and local vendors — giving attendees that dark underground vibe. 8 pm.

Sunday, January 4

Flying Saucer Draught Emporium presents Saint Arnold Social Fun Walk/Run
Saint Arnold Fun Runs are back for 2026. Close out the first weekend of 2026 by getting some exercise, taking a social run/walk, and purging yourself of everything 2025-related. Participants get a guided and marked, 3.5(ish)-mile run/walk with beer pacers, three tasty brews from Saint Arnold, a Saint Arnold pint glass, and a Texas tamale breakfast. Rain or shine. 8 am.

Cousins Maine Lobster at Car Spa
Get your car shining and your cravings satisfied all in one stop as Cousins Maine Lobster rolls its truck over to Car Spa this weekend. Whether you're cleaning up your ride or just passing through, swing by and sample such delicacies as Maine, Connecticut, and garlic butter lobster rolls, lobster tacos and quesadillas, lobster tots and lobster tails, lobster grilled cheese, creamy lobster bisque, clam chowder, whoopie pies, and more. 11 am.

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema LaCenterra presents The Man Who Fell to Earth
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema’s “Art Decade: Films of David Bowie 1973-1983” series begins with this 1976 sci-fi curio. The story of an alien (Bowie, of course) on an elaborate rescue mission provides the launching pad for Nicolas Roeg’s examination of alienation in contemporary life. The film’s hallucinatory vision was obscured in the American theatrical release, which deleted nearly 20 minutes of crucial scenes and details. This screening is of Roeg’s full, uncut version. Noon.

Steve Aoki in concert

Steve Aoki

Steve Aoki/Facebook

See Steve Aoki in concert at NOHO in EaDo.

new year's day entertainment weekend events event-planner

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