An Army of Women
In Julie Lunde Lillesæter’s absorbing documentary, victims of sexual assault unite to fight for justice.
Image courtesy of Together Films.
It is no surprise that this film has won two awards, one of them being an audience award. Filmed in the city of Austin in Texas, this is a work of enormous human appeal being a story of struggle and determination not to give up. It is these positive qualities that drive the film regardless of the fact that it offers an illustration of the extent to which women who have been sexually abused can find it absurdly difficult to obtain justice. We are told early on that when it comes to federal lawsuits in America less than one per cent of the nationally reported cases result in a conviction. As for Austin itself, about a thousand cases are reported each year while it is recognised that a huge number never get reported at all.
Other than the plaintiffs for whom they acted, the central figures in this documentary are a couple of lawyers, Jennifer Ecklund and Elizabeth Myers. In 2018 they filed a lawsuit against the Austin Police Department and in addition against the Travis County District Attorney’s office which since the previous year had been headed by Margaret Moore. Ecklund and Myers did this on behalf of eight plaintiffs, victims of sexual assault whose claims going back as much as ten years were alleged to have been mishandled. Of the plaintiffs in question, three are given special prominence in the film, namely Marina Garrett, nineteen at the time of being attacked, Hanna Senko and Mary Ruth Reyes who initially used the pseudonym Amy Smith fearing the consequences of her name becoming publicly known.
Julie Lunde Lillesæter, a Norwegian who lived in Austin, is both the film’s director and photographer and her film traces the various developments including the setbacks which had to be overcome in a period lasting over a thousand days beyond the original filing in 2018. We hear more briefly from the other five plaintiffs too but see and learn much more of the central three including details of their cases and their responses to their situation. Equally, we get a portrait of their two lawyers. It may be a slight detour from the main narrative when the film shows these two getting married but the fact is that it was working in conjunction on this lawsuit that brought the two together leading to their lesbian marriage. Another event more directly relevant to the suit came with a local election for District Attorney when the unhelpful Margaret Moore was challenged by a newcomer, José Garza, who appeared ready to take a more positive view of the changes required in the Sex Crimes Unit.
At 84 minutes An Army of Women is not over-extended and, since it is so easy to engage with the women here, the film is on a winning streak. That is not to say that this is a perfect example of filmmaking. In particular I could have done without the unimaginative film score by Therese Aune and just occasionally a speech explaining the current situation in the lawsuit sounds worked on and set up for the camera. It can also be difficult at times to keep in mind and differentiate between those plaintiffs who are more briefly featured. However, none of these points is of real significance since the audience will feel totally involved and thus be carried through to the coda which fills in on later events concerning the lives of those who have been featured. It includes a written statement from Margaret Moore who continues to justify her actions and there is also a sad footnote. The fight for these plaintiffs may have ended but, as regards the position of women in that area now, we learn that at the time of this film’s completion Jennifer and Elizabeth had issued twenty-two lawsuits challenging the Texas ban on abortion.
MANSEL STIMPSON
Featuring Jennifer Ecklund, Elizabeth Myers, Marina Garrett, Hanna Senko, Mary Ruth Reyes, Amanda Day, Angela Fielding, Heather Sin, Kelly McWilliams, Kristen Troken, José Garza, Margaret Moore.
Dir Julie Lunde Lillesæter, Pro Natalya Sarch, Julie Lunde Lillesæter and Arne Dahr, Ph Julie Lunde Lillesæter, Ed Trude Lirhus and Mathias Askeland, Music Therese Aune.
Differ Media/3B-Produktion/Lost Footage Films-Together Films.
84 mins. Norway/Germany/USA. 2024. UK Rel: 25 April 2025. Cert. 15.
