10 Fave Lit-Flick Ladies

In the classic 1987 film Throw Momma from the Train, Larry the creative writing teacher is reading the titles of the books his students have submitted, and he comes to One Hundred Girls I'd Like to Pork. (Okay, he didn't say "Pork," but the original word was dubbed over for a PG-13 rating.) In that general spirit, I'm going to switch gears slightly and present a list of ten of my favorite female characters from movie adaptations of literature.

Here they are, in no particular order:

Emma Watson as Hermione Granger (Harry Potter films, 2001 - 2011). No, I'm not one of those skeezy men who started salivating over teen Watson when she showed the first signs of physical development in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. In fact, I called foul on my entertainment website in 2007 when advertisements for Order of the Phoenix had obviously been photoshopped to give slim little Emma larger breasts. But I did think Watson as Hermione was adorable from her first appearance in The Philosopher's Stone, showing real intelligence and wit in that and all subsequent performances.

Rachel McAdams as Irene Adler (Sherlock Holmes/Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, 2009 - 2011). It might surprise people who aren't rabid Sherlockians (or Holmesians, depending on where you're from) that the Great Detective only met "The Woman" three times in one story, and in each instance one of them was disguised. After that, Irene disappeared from the canon, never to return. She and Sherlock were not romantically involved. So, you'd think a devoted Holmes enthusiast like myself would shun the rather loose-footed film interpretations starring Robert Downey, Jr., in which Holmes and Adler meet again as old flames. But the vivacious McAdams turns in such a winning performance in these flicks, which are rather fun themselves, that even a stickler like me can overlook the changes.

Emilia Clarke as Danaerys Targaryen (Game of Thrones, 2011 - 2018). I've not read any of the books in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, and I don't actually plan to. In fact, I resisted watching the TV show version for several years, which was easy to do since it was on HBO (to which I don't subscribe). But the siren song of the beautiful Danaerys Stormborn kept calling me until I could no longer resist. I got hooked and continue to return for each new season, despite how depressing the series can be (they could've called it Who're We Killing This Week?). But I still won't read the novels for the simple reason that the scrumptious Emilia Clarke isn't in them.

Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter (Marvel films and TV series, 2011 - 2016). Agent Carter was immediately one of my favorite parts of the film Captain America: The First Avenger, so I was quite happy when Marvel kept creating new projects for her (such as the Agent Carter mini-film) and giving her cameos in other places (Avengers: Age of Ultron and Agents of SHIELD). I was pretty bummed when her TV series was axed after a cliffhanger ending, but at least I was able to mourn along with the characters attending Peggy's funeral in Captain America: Civil War. With her intelligence, wit, bombshell figure, and entrancing accent, Atwell as Carter is impossible to forget.

Carla Gugino as Sally Jupiter (Watchmen, 2009). In the original comic book by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, I found Sally Jupiter, aka Silk Spectre I, rather annoying. But then the incredible Gugino, a classic film noir femme born in the wrong time, was cast in the movie version, and suddenly I loved her. It helped that her brassy talkativeness was toned down from the book, but equally as important was Carla's talent for playing tough-yet-damaged women. She'd be all defiance in the smile and voice, but then her eyes would betray the vulnerability. Sally Jupiter was supposed to be the Grande Dame of bombshells, and, with Carla Gugino in the role, you totally believed it.

Lily James as Elizabeth Bennet (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, 2016). For many literature-loving women, Miss Bennet was already a heroine. Then the wacky Seth Grahame-Smith introduced the walking dead to Jane Austen's tale, and she became a superheroine. Yes, Liz is smart, she's brave, she's crafty, she's deadly. But what made me fall for Lily James's embodiment of the character were her goofiness and...her mouth. She can be saying something witty to one of her sisters, or maybe she's making a fool of herself in front of Wickham, and then she'll surreptitiously look at Mr. Darcy with longing, and her mouth is just gorgeous. Does this make me vapid?

Olivia Hussey as Juliet Capulet (Romeo and Juliet, 1968). She just looked right: Hussey appeared very Italian, with her dark hair and eyes, and she was 15, only two years older than the classic character she was playing, which would have caused a scandal today if someone tried to put that nude scene on screen. Beyond that, she was just so winsome and voluptuous and beautiful, with that full-throated laugh and the ingenue expression on her face. True, the actor went downhill astonishingly quickly, but that just makes this performance the more precious.

Anna Popplewell as Susan Pevensie (The Chronicles of Narnia, 2005 - 2010). I couldn't stand Susan in the C.S. Lewis novels--what a brat! But then I saw the first movie in the abbreviated series initiated by Disney, and the ridiculously cute and voluptuous Popplewell made her instantly my favorite character. I watched all three movies--which she appeared in, though only in a cameo role in the third--but I wasn't crushed when a halt was called to it due to diminishing box-office returns. After all, Susan was out of the series after that, except for a brief adult appearance in The Last Battle.

Christina Ricci as Katrina Van Tassel (Sleepy Hollow, 1999). Leave it to Tim Burton to take Washington Irving's tale, which we know so well from the Disney cartoon, and craft from it something completely different but just as compelling and classic. I was hooked on the concept right away and was even more excited to have Johnny Depp as the hero. But what sold it for me was the casting of Ricci in the previously nothing role of the object of desire, Katrina. It's no surprise she was chosen for the part, since she naturally looks like some of the bizarrely beautiful female characters Burton has sketched over the years. But Christina took what could have been a purely physical character and put soul into it, making her the heart of the film.

Sadie Frost as Lucy Westenra (Bram Stoker's Dracula, 1992). I hadn't yet read the novel when I saw this film version, so I didn't realize just how much Frost brought to the character. An unknown at the time (and still really only known as Jude Law's ex), she managed to command attention among Anthony Hopkins, Winona Ryder, Cary Elwes, Richard E. Grant, and Billy Campbell. Oozing pure sex, she delighted in the lustful stares she got from the men as she hypnotized them nearly to their graves. Only when Lucy had been staked and put to rest was poor little Ryder able to draw any notice to herself.

There you have it. I hope you've enjoyed this brief journey into my literary-film tastes (and secret fantasies). Please visit again sometime!

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