Ashley Judd looked back at her past work with a critical eye admitting that the portrayal of women in Michael Mann’s 1995 crime thriller Heat doesn’t sit right with her today.
In a new interview with Vulture, Judd reflected on her role as Charlene Shiherlis, wife to Val Kilmer’s character Chris.
While the 57-year-old still considers the film ‘iconic’ and is proud to have been part of it, she acknowledged that its depiction of women was problematic.
“The depiction of women in this movie is not okay. I look at all my movies that way,” she said, noting how the roles often mirrored internalized misogyny.
Judd explained that she now views her projects through a different lens, one shaped by years of activism and advocacy.
She pointed to Kiss the Girls as another example.
She explained, “…male sexual violence and male torture of women is not entertainment, and that’s what that movie is about. Calling it ‘resilience’ rather than going into the structural inequality that caused the harm to happen in the first place — we’re all implicated in that.”
Despite her critique, Judd emphasized that the issues lie in the reality the films reflect, not solely in the films themselves.
“To say the movie is problematic is not to put the responsibility and focus where it lies, which is with the reality of which it’s a reflection. Observation and critique is what I’m offering,” she confessed.
Since Heat, Judd has built a career spanning films like Double Jeopardy, Frida, and Divergent, while becoming a prominent activist.
She has spoken out against Harvey Weinstein and worked with organizations including YouthAid, the International Center for Research on Women, and the United Nations.
