When it comes to progress, the world sometimes feels like an inflexible, static place. Change comes slowly. When it arrives, the impacts can be tiny, and in turn, people lose hope. Action stops happening. Tough Old Broads is a documentary that wants to motivate people to fight for a better tomorrow, even if doing so seems useless when the results are small, or the reaction is negative.
The documentary splices together the stories of three world-changing women: Katherine Switzer, the first woman to run the Boston Marathon; Sharon Farmer, the first woman and Person of Colour to be Chief Official White House Photographer; and Siila Watt-Cloutier, the first woman to start legal action against the U.S. government for its role in climate change. The film follow all three stories, from the women’s first calls to action to their present-day ambitions.
It gets emotional at times, even for the thick-skinned. The sentimentality is made even more compelling by high-quality production values. Director Stacey Tenenbaum takes organic shots with strong and bright colour palettes. Most of the aesthetic is intensely cinematic, but occasionally she favours observational slice-of-life touches that add a natural, personable charm. A floppy-eared dog sits on the beach and wags its tail at the camera, for example, or a tambourine-thumping woman in a masquerade mask sings about peace and love in a D.C park.
There’s a wonderful contrast between the scenes of Watt-Cloutier, which involve sprawling, rural Northern Canada, and Farmer’s segments in the U.S capitol that capture urban density and the grit of city life. This way of filming brings the women’s feelings, values, and beliefs through the screen. It allows the audience to be a part of their world and see it through their eyes.
The editing, and in turn, pacing, is great too. Tough Old Broads doesn’t feel rushed or slow. Instead, there’s a fair balance between each of the stories, and a good amount of detail too. As the narratives switch between one another, a theme comes together. Although what each woman has accomplished is quite different, all three discuss a shared mindset.
Switzer talks about how, despite feeling too old, a good friend pushed her to continue making waves. She established an international running club in countries where women lack economic and social freedoms. Watt-Cloutier unpacks the sombre childhood moments that made her want to battle the powers that be and push for a better world. Farmer says she only had hope, and without it, nothing would get done.
All three women clearly believe that doing what you love, especially against the odds, can reshape society. Switzer’s running clubs and Farmer’s photography were–and are–just as significant as Watt-Cloutier’s legal battles. Revolution comes in many forms.
Although the documentary overall proves inspiring, Tough Old Broads does feel jarring at times because some moments have aged poorly. It’s clear that filming was done a few months before the U.S. government’s release of the Epstein files. That news has completely changed how people view the world. For example, Farmer’s photos with and of Bill Clinton aren’t effective now because they are overshadowed by that darker, distracting, and unrelated information that one might bring to the film in this new context. It’s simply a result of bad timing.
At first, it’s easy to feel discouraged by Tough Old Broads. The world today is very different from the world in which the women began their activism. However, the interviewees clarify that they are aware of that.
The women try to expand their story to adhere to contemporary circumstances. Watt-Cloutier mentions climate issues for the entire world, not just the problems within her smaller community. Switzer acknowledges that running is just a means to enact change in a broader issue of women lacking rights in places like Afghanistan. Farmer talks about how equality isn’t just about black and white, but about everybody, everywhere, especially in our polarized world. As the world gets darker, documentaries like Tough Old Broads give us something reassuring and hopeful to hold on to.
