Nicole Kidman and Meryl Streep refuse to work with Martin Scorsese for the exact same reason
The list of praise for the work of Martin Scorsese is endless, with critics and film lovers around the world heralding him as one of the greatest film directors of all time. From the disturbing portrait of loneliness and madness in Taxi Driver, to the stark violence of Raging Bull, Scorsese has tried his hand at many stories within the gangster and organised crime genre, showing a preference for gritty films. However, over the years, his scope has remained somewhat limited and strictly focused on male characters, showing seemingly no interest in creating female-centred stories.
Not only is this extremely narrow, but he is closing himself off to a whole range of rich stories that could widen his lens of cinema, as well as eliminate a number of female actors who won’t get the opportunity to work with him in any substantial way.
Nicole Kidman is one of the most in demand actors working today, with a creative approach that is founded on spontaneity and pure intuition, choosing not to overthink and select projects based on passion and being challenged. After monumental roles in Birth, Eyes Wide Shut, Big Little Lies and Dogville, Kidman has proved that there is no role too big; she simply adapts to each character with fluidity and ease, never showing anything but strength despite moving outside of her comfort zone with each project.
However, despite working with some the most influential auteurs of modern cinema, it isn’t surprising that she hasn’t worked with Scorsese given that he has never made a film with a female lead. When asked about this, Kidman said, “I’ve always said I want to work with [Martin] Scorsese, if he does a film with women”.
This a very sad truth, and it is incredibly disappointing that Scorsese is not only limiting his own working experiences by not getting the chance to work with such incredible actors but that it demonstrates either an inability to write women or a lack of interest in their perspective. I don’t know which one is worse.
The blow of not being able to work with Kidman is pretty hard to recover from, but there have also been other actors to mirror this sentiment. Meryl Streep is another one of the great actors of our time, and her work in the industry needs no introduction. However, it is unlikely that this work will extend to the Scorsese universe, with the actor saying, “Yes, I would like Martin Scorsese to be interested in a female character once in a while. But I don’t know if I’ll live that long.”
While Scorsese is undoubtedly one of the greats, it is truly upsetting that his work is widely loved and revered despite this huge gap in inclusion and perspective. Many people do not even see this as a flaw in his work, and he is rarely criticized for this quality because of his power and status in the industry. It only sets a precedent that female stories and women in film do not matter because when the majority of working directors today are praised for their male-centric stories and don’t allow for women to be real people, it tells audiences that there is no place for us in cinema. Simply put, if Scorsese is doing it, then it must be fine.
