The final scene in “Mrs. America” is redolent of Chantal Akerman’s 1975 masterpiece “Jeanne Dielman.” Is it an homage à Akerman by writers Dahvi Waller, Joshua Allen Griffith, and directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck?
The biopic of Phyllis Schlafly, “Mrs. America”, debuted on Hulu in 2020. At the time, a few savvy viewers noticed a striking similarity between its final scene and the late director Chantal Akerman’s masterpiece Jeanne Dielman. Or, to give it its full title, “Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles”.
It’s January 1981, and Reagan has just informed Schlafly (Cate Blanchett), over the telephone, that she will not be offered a cabinet position in his administration. Schlafly’s list of Republican contacts, from her work with the ERA, was influential in getting Reagan elected president in 1980. However, she was considered too polarizing a figure when American politics were not as polarized as they are today to be included in his inner circle. Despite this woman’s unsympathetic nature, the unfolding of the next scene leads us to feel a surprising degree of compassion toward her.
