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Science on Film

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Ep. 51: Proxima and Baby Boom: Working mothers

In this episode of the podcast, we compare two films about working mothers — Baby Boom (1987) and Proxima (2019) — to take a look at how things have or have not changed in the last thirty years. Read more on Proxima >>

This episode is a Seventh Row members exclusive, as are all episodes older than six months. Click here to become a member.

In this episode of the podcast, we discuss two films about working mothers: Proxima and Baby Boom

This episode of the podcast features Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney, Executive Editor Orla Smith, Associate Editor Brett Pardy, and special guest Fiona Underhill (@FionaUnderhill).

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Diane Keaton in Baby Boom

Baby Boom (Charles Shyer, 1987), written by Nancy Meyers, follows JC Wiatt (Diane Keaton), an advertising executive obsessed with her job. When a distant relative dies, JC becomes a guardian of a 14 month old girl. Her new role causes the men in company to demote her. Forced to re-evaluate her life, JC ultimately comes out ahead.

Proxima, Best films of the decade
Still from Alice Winocour’s Proxima, which inspired this episode of the podcast on working mothers

Alice Winocour’s new film, Proxima, looks at astronaut training through a professional rather than mythic lens. Eva Green plays Sarah, an astronaut preparing for a year on the International Space Station. To do so, she has to prepare for a physically and technically demanding job, deal with the casual misogyny of the men around her, and emotionally prepare to be away from her daughter for the year.

Show notes from the podcast on Proxima and Baby Boom

  • Proxima opened in Britain on July 31 and is available in Australia on VOD. A North American release is planned for the Fall.
  • Baby Boom is streaming Hoopla in Canada and the USA
  • Read Orla’s interview with director Alice Winocour about Proxima
  • Read Alex’s interview with Winocour about her prior film, Disorder
  • Watch our Lockdown Film School interview with Alice Winocour, where she discusses all her feature films, including Proxima.
  • Listen to Fiona’s other podcast appearances, discussing The Romances of Normal People & On Chesil Beach and Shirley and Portraits of Female Artists

Roads to nowhere: Kelly Reichardt’s broken American dreams

  • Purchase your copy of our newest ebook to discover how modern master Kelly Reichardt operates, and to read a series of essays about each of Reichardt’s films, which examine her thoughtful, quiet portraits of everyday lives.
  • Read a free chapter from Roads To Nowhere, featuring an interview with Lily Gladstone
  • Purchase your Kelly Reichardt mug

Become a Kelly Reichardt expert

Roads to nowhere: Kelly Reichardt’s broken American dreams is an ebook that will take you on a journey through Reichardt’s filmography.

It’s also the only place you can find interviews with her and all her collaborators, which together reveal Reichardt’s filmmaking process like never before.

Find out more

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Ep. 10: October Sky

Episode 10 begins a mini-series covering movies about space exploration. Our first film in this series is Joe Johnston’s October Sky.

This episode is a Seventh Row members exclusive, as are all episodes older than six months. Click here to become a member.

For this discussion, Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney is joined by Executive Editor Orla Smith and Associate Editor Brett Pardy

October Sky is based on the true story of future NASA scientist Homer Hickam’s 1950s high school rocket experiments in a small West Virginian coal mining town. It features Chris Cooper, Laura Dern, and a breakthrough performance by Jake Gyllenhaal. We discuss the film’s portrayals of learning, engineering, problem solving, and history.

October Sky is streaming on Netflix Canada and HBO Now in the US. It is available to rent on most VOD platforms in Canada, the US, and the UK.

Show Notes for October Sky

To learn more about the real Homer Hickman, you can visit his official site.

Our space on film series continues with Sergio & Sergei, a Cuban gentle comedy about a ham radio enthusiast who befriends the last cosmonaut on the MIR right as the USSR is ending. Listen to our episode on the film here.

Brett Pardy and Alex Heeney both commented that this was a film from their childhood. We also discuss other important films from Alex’s childhood in our episodes on Little Women and Emma.

Laura Dern, who plays Miss Riley in October Sky, also appears as Marmee in Gerwig’s Little Women and as one of the divorce lawyers in Marriage Story. Listen to our discussions of Little Women and Marriage Story.

This episode was edited by Edward von Aderkas.

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