Cult Status: The Women of Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

Sin City: where women's sexuality is the most powerful of weapons.

Picture the most exaggerated rendering of a classic film noir femme fatale. Now add a dash of extreme homicidal tendencies, some distaste for men, and a hint of stripper/prostitute attire and you will have the perfect formula for most of, if not all, the women of Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014).  

After nearly a decade of anticipation, we have finally been treated to a follow up of Frank Miller's hugely popular Sin City (2005). With Robert Rodriguez back as co-director, expectations were incredibly high for the latest adaptation of Miller's bloody violent graphic novels. Although the film may not have surpassed its predecessor in terms of quality, it undoubtedly provided audiences with an array of darkly twisted and intriguing female characters. 

Contrary to the first film, A Dame to Kill For appeared to portray the women of Sin City as more complex beings than your standard damsels in distress. Whereas returning characters such as Nancy Callahan (Jessica Alba) and Gail (Rosario Dawson) had to previously be rescued from desperate situations by men, they now took their own initiative, and either enlisted the help of men for their own missions or worked alongside them as equals. Considerably one of the standout moments of this film, we witness the frustrated stripper Nancy take a shard of broken mirror to her face, in an alcohol-fueled plan to prove to herself and others that she is no longer simply a "pretty" face, that she can and will avenge the man she loved. 

Which she did, in a studded leather jacket.

Like Nancy, almost all of the women of Sin City took on a more hardcore role when it came to clothing. Whilst dominatrix prostitute Gail may only have evolved further in her badass ensembles, the change in Old Town was very noticeable (although somewhat confusing - wasn't this storyline a prequel to the first film?). 

The only character who did not adhere to the dark and dangerous dresscode was newcomer Ava (Eva Green). Her wardrobe mainly consisted of sultry lingerie, a sheer dressing gown and a very impressive blue satin coat - that is, when she wasn't completely naked, which was most of the time.

Unlike Rodriguez's previous action film, which also featured a female-heavy cast, A Dame to Kill For manages to avoid offending and problematizing the representation of female sexuality. Sin City is a place where strippers are strippers, prostitutes are prostitutes and nobody judges. 

Cult Status: The Women of Machete Kills

"This dress cost more than your f***ing life!"

Where do you draw the line between extravagant mockery and insulting exploitation? Gratuitously skimpy costumes? A machine gun bra? That thing that Sofia Vergara wore around her crotch, which was supposed to look like something else, that turned out to be a pistol?

To describe Robert Rodriguez's Machete Kills (2013) as "problematic" would be an overwhelming understatement. Whilst watching it, it's difficult not to get distracted from the so-called storyline and drift into an internal debate about which female character (and her costumes) are the most offensive. 

It should come as no surprise that this sequel to Machete (2010), which was hugely disappointing, would be utterly lacklustre as well. What is somewhat surprising, however, is the array of well-known actresses who chose to participate in this abomination.  

Amber Heard plays Miss San Antonio, a secret service agent / spy / assassin (I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention), posing as a Texan beauty pageant contestant. 

Sofía Vergara is Desdemona, a literal maneater, a madame at a brothel who despises men so much that she either eats parts of their bodies or shoots them with her machine gun bra.

Lady Gaga, unsurprisingly, plays La Camaleón, a hit-man (again, not sure about this one) who changes face and apparently gender whenever he/she is seen.

Then of course there is Michelle Rodriguez's Luz, a.k.a. Shé, the leader of an illegal immigrant aid movement, who wears an eye-patch.

What is interesting, as well as a little unsettling, about all these characters is the question as to whether or not they are intended to be empowering, or if they, much like their costumes, are simply mockery disguised as empowerment. To what degree are these characters and their costumes a reflection of classic tropes of exploitation cinema? Has it been taken too far?

Interesting side note: costume designer Nina Proctor has previously worked on the likes of Grindhouse epics Death Proof (2007) and Planet Terror (2007), as well as the first Machete, and we will next see her work in the upcoming Sin City: A Dame To Kill For. Seems she has a knack for dressing some controversial female characters.