Killing Eve is a film with four seasons and was produced in 2019. The film was produced by Sid Gentle films in the United Kingdom. Waller-Bridge wrote the film, and the film is based on Luke Jennings’s novels. The film was also directed and produced by Damon Thomas. Several actors and actresses in the film, such as Sandra Oh as Eve Polastri, Jodie Corner ad Villanelle, Kim Bodnia as Konstantin, and Owen McDonnell as Niko Polastri, are other characters in the film. Every character is essential since they help ensure that the film’s themes and messages are followed. Eve Polastri is an MI5 analyst obsessed with Villanelle, an assassin. Villanelle is a skilled psychopathic assassin that also later is obsessed with Eve Polastri, the analyst recruited by MI6 to capture Villanelle. These are the main characters in the television show Killing Eve. The genre of this film is thriller film.
The film has four seasons. During the first season, Eve is presented as a bored character from the protection responsibility in MI5. Eve investigates a witness behind the scenes and is therefore fired. Eve has an obsession with female assassins, leading Eve to join MI6. The role of the MI6 is to track and capture Villanelle, an international assassin (Gamzae, 2021). Villanelle works for a firm called The Twelve that hires assassins who are ruthless. This assignment leads to both Eve and Villanelle risking their lives. In this season, Villanelle and Eve obsess over each other, compromising their tasks. They, however, are drawn together despite their different individual assignments (Gamzae, 2021). Later, Eve and Villanelle work together to catch a dangerous assassin that threatens both the MI6 and The Twelve.
Eve experiences a near-death event that leaves her traumatized and in Villanelle’s care. Eve later quits from MI6 and picks a low profile as her new way of life. On the other hand, Villanelle quits killing for The Twelve and seeks to find a new source of income. However, Villanelle’s trainer from The Twelve appears and leads to Villanelle thinking about whether assassination is her leading role. Eve starts investigating The Twelve and therefore leads to Villanelle and Eve meeting again. Eve investigates The Twelve after they kill someone close to her (Gamzae, 2021). Eve seeks revenge on The Twelve due to the murder of someone close to her while Villanelle works towards changing for Eve. Although they have different missions, both women clash and lead them to different paths but with the same aim of destroying The Twelve.
There are different themes in Killing Eve that have their roots in patriarchy, such as the thoughts of women who are assassins as being mad and corrupted. According to the film, when women remain subjective to men, there is harmony in the community. The film also represents cases of female violence from the second to the fourth wave of feminism (Gamzae, 2021). There are gender roles in these film that guides the television show to achieve the different themes. Also, there is the central issue of discrimination and sexual subjectivity. There is also role conflict, mental disorders, and feminist therapy in this film.
In this film, four women are the main characters, and two of these women are women of color. The two characters have their qualities, flaws, and character traits. However, there are fewer hierarchical characteristics, although Eve looks up to Caroline as her mentor. On the other hand, Caroline trusts and gives Eve and Elena a platform to air their ideas and participate in the investigation. The women value teamwork since Elena, Caroline, and Eve work together, and there is no superiority or subordination in this case. This shows that there are collaborative efforts of feminists in working through the issues in the community (Crawford, 2018). In the film, Caroline, Eve, and Elena are great examples of this aspect as they make collaborative efforts to help catch the assassins.
It is also heteronormative in this film, where there are interpretations of the relationship between Eve and Villanelle. Although Villanelle does not have any level, the scenes show she has had relationships with other women, which explains the sexual tensions between Villanelle and Eve. Therefore, Villanelle also sleeps with men, contradicting Eve’s weird relationship. Heteronormative occurs when a woman’s identity is associated with their body (Gilligan & Collins, 2021). In this film, heteronormative occurs when Villanelle’s identity is tied to the activities with her body. In the community setting, women are subjects to the narratives of love or are used as baits in the film. There is also the queer element that shows heterosexuality in the community that incorporates asexual, bisexual, and transgender, among others.
In a case where the women are the main characters, they are presented as damaged and have to be rescued from the violent environment they experience (Crawford, 2018). There is a connection between female characters, just as Eve first suspects Villanelle to be a lady after they are assigned to investigate the murders. The other characters have patriarchal thinking that makes them think an assassin is a man (Gamzae, 2021). Carolyn suspects the assassin is a woman but does not air the opinion due to the fears of who to trust and who not to trust. The lack of confidence that the assassin is a woman shows the communal roles of men and women that cause prejudiced thoughts that women are also subjects (Crawford, 2018).
When the other investigators fail to identify Villanelle as a female assassin, it shows the thought of women’s incapability to participate in violence and that women are only associated with humanity (Crawford, 2018). The community notion that women are kind and empathetic shows the gender notions in many communities. The assassinations of Villanelle are based on the fact that the assassin is a woman, for example, the expectations of society (Gilligan & Collins, 2021). There are many roles that Villanelle takes up, such as a maid, sex worker, and nurse. The scene where Villanelle zips herself in a suitcase is one of the gender notions since it is difficult for a man to zip themselves.
This shows the gender roles in the community. Also, women have special moments in the restrooms, which is evident in Killing Eve. Eve and Villanelle meet in the restroom while Villanelle also murders a person in the restroom. Women share moments in the restroom and therefore seek advice and request from strangers (Gilligan & Collins, 2021). Eve also uses the restroom as the secret place where she answers her phone and converses. This is evident in the community since women use the restroom as a secret place to seek solace and peace.
I believe that Killing Eve gives many aspects of the female version of life in a community. The film creates a women-centric spy film with humor and women with different societal roles. The women in Killing Eve are women-oriented with conversations in the restroom; they borrow items such as lipstick from coworkers and allow strangers to converse with other people (Crawford, 2018). This shows the cultural feminism in the community; therefore, the film shows the themes of gender that center on women investigating, developing obsessions, and finally moving in different directions.
There are strengths and weaknesses of the themes in the film. For example, I view gender roles as a downgrade of women in the community since they are subjected to torture, violence, and assassinations. Women in the film have to explore the different sectors of the setting; for example, Eve has to deal with the pain of losing a close person killed by The Twelve. Eve seeks revenge heteronormative (Miller, Atherton & Hetherington, 2021). Although Eve sees revenge as a solution, it is a vice in the community that continues to make women’s lives harder heteronormative (Miller, Atherton & Hetherington, 2021). As Eve takes the challenge of investigating the murder alone, she suffers while on the mission; for example, she gets injured while on a mission to investigate Villanelle.
The advantage of this film is that both Eve and Villanelle are presented as independent, strong, and successful in their careers, and they are independent. Despite the different professions and life paths, Villanelle and Eve are attracted to each other, which causes different personality interpretations from the audience (Crawford, 2018). The film takes the female gaze since it is based on the female perspective, allowing the viewers to see the various events from a female perspective (Crawford, 2018). However, it is also advantageous that the male gaze reaffirms the femme fatale attitudes. For example, Eve goes to the Chinese Government official to seduce them and get information on a death associated with Villanelle (Gilligan & Collins, 2021).
The film is helpful since it helps sensitize the critical issues that women face. I believe that gender roles, heteronormative, modern marriage, role overload, and gender-linked violence are issues. For example, Eve’s marriage is an example of a modern marriage where Eve and her husband were married, but their interaction was limited. In this marriage, Eve developed an obsession with Villanelle that affected their marriage and led to Eve and Nikolas Polastri separating (Gilligan & Collins, 2021). This reduces oppression of women in the community since there is understandable separation without deaths and fights. Eve and Niko separate peacefully, and Eve explores the different issues she finds demanding (Gilligan & Collins, 2021). This aspect is helpful because it helps create a better picture of the marriage community. If a marriage does not work, there is peaceful separation, and the woman is not subjected to any violence or oppression.
In conclusion, feminism is an important aspect of the community, and therefore, many films have concentrated on making this the main theme. The film has violence, bloody events, sexual acts, patriarchy, gender roles, and heteronormative (Miller, Atherton & Hetherington, 2021). The film also helps appreciate the women of color since there is inclusivity in the film. Villanelle is oppressed psychologically since The Twelve use her for the assassinations. However, there is redemption for her since Eve enters Villanelle’s life, and Villanelle works towards changing for Eve.
Killing Eve creates an environment of strong and equal female actresses, therefore not compromising the man’s position in the community. The film is a feminist film. Women find motivation in either their career, friendships, or family to overcome their fears and help deal with the effects of oppression. Collaboration of female counterparts reduces oppression against women since teamwork allows women to share their issues, and the collaborations allow women to fight for their rights and freedoms (Crawford, 2018). Although Eve and Villanelle do not go on one path, they have defined their goals and faced their fears, The Twelve. It is a challenge to both of them, and therefore they seek to bring down The Twelve. The film also shows the importance of female roles in the community. For example, Eve faces sexual criticism from her male counterparts due to her success. This is an issue that women face in the community that becomes a barrier to women’s success. Women’s opinions are dismissed and disregarded by coworkers in the workplace or even at the family level.
References
Crawford, M. (2018). TRANSFORMATIONS Women, Gender, and Psychology. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 43(3).
Gamzae, L. S. (2021). Ironic Europe: Gender and National Stereotypes in Killing Eve. Academic Quarter| Akademisk kvarter, (22), 137-148.
Gilligan, S., & Collins, J. (2021). Fashion-forward killer: Villanelle, costuming and queer style in Killing Eve. Film, Fashion & Consumption, 10(2), 353-376. https://doi.org/10.1386/ffc_00030_1
Miller, A., Atherton, C., & Hetherington, P. (2021). Agents of chaos: The monstrous feminine in killing Eve. Feminist Media Studies, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2021.1996423
