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We are in the dawn of a new era: as the girlish pinks and pastels of a Barbie-dominated 2023 fade into the distance, we see, rising on a parched horizon, a new kind of woman. She's fiercely stoic, determined and, probably, just a little dehydrated. She is a woman of the world of Dune. (Cue the guttural cries of Hans Zimmer's visceral score and Denis Villeneuve's epic, sweeping shots of sand as far as the eye can see.)
After the immense success of Villeneuve's first Dune instalment in 2021, Dune: Part Two, which covers (roughly) the second half of Frank Herbert's cult classic novel, arrives in theatres this Friday. In the continuation of the Dune saga, we follow Timothée Chalamet's Paul Atreides as he comes closer to fulfilling his apparent destiny as the “chosen one” — a fated messiah who, it is said, will bring water and life back the barren sandy lands of the planet of Arrakis. Like the first film, Dune 2 is about the journey of a young man who struggles to accept his fate as a messianic figure within a patriarchal empire. With its vast sandy landscapes, epic battle scenes and giant, toothy worms, it is what many people might lazily assume to be a “boy's movie”.
This assumption is an understandable one — especially after the first film featured only one truly three-dimensional female character (Lady Jessica, Paul's mother, played with captivating ferocity by Rebecca Ferguson) along with five minutes of screen time for Zendaya as Chani — or rather, as Paul's prescient visions of Chani, gazing moodily into the camera in wind-swept slo-mo. However, in Villeneuve's second film, female characters are not only plentiful, they are also, consistently, the most fascinating people on the screen. In Dune: Part Two, it becomes clear that the women are the ones driving this story onwards and, indeed, holding the entire complex sci-fi saga together.
There's not long to wait.
First of all, we have Zendaya's Chani — now that Paul has actually met her, she is upgraded from dream-like vision into fully realised, multi-faceted woman. She is, we learn, a ferocious Fremen soldier, motivated by an unshakeable love for her people. As she becomes closer to Paul, her passion for her people is tested. She confronts a inner battle: her personal romance with Paul versus her growing unease about Paul's appeal amongst the more fervent factions of the Fremen. As Paul falls deeper and deeper into the prophecy, it is through her eyes that we see the human, emotional, personal implications.
Meanwhile, Paul's mother, Jessica, is going on her own deeply fascinating journey. A member of the witchy sisterhood cult of the Bene Gesserit, she is one of the supernaturally gifted puppet masters who effectively pull the strings, guiding and controlling the male leaders of the empire. Jessica agrees to drink the ‘Water of Life’ in order to become the tribe's new Reverend Mother. In doing so, she is granted new spiritual powers and her eyes are opened to the full picture — she sees all potential future paths with newfound clarity, and, in turn, she sees the path that will offer safety for her bloodline. Although she and Paul are the sole survivors from house Atreides, she is pregnant, and, with her newfound spiritual powers, she soon begins conferring with her unborn daughter. And so, she teeters on the edge of full-blown crazy lady and all-seeing, all-powerful witch. She is driven by emotion, but, simultaneously, she is ferociously clearsighted and dogged in her determination to carve a safe path for her remaining family members. It's quietly dark and satisfyingly creepy — and, of course, completely fascinating stuff.
As for the other women in the film, they are, though playing relatively small characters, given interesting arcs and multiple levels to play. Florence Pugh makes her first appearance in the franchise as Princess Irulan, the daughter of the Emperor. Trained by the Bene Gesserit, she holds the power and is already swaying her indecisive father (played by Christopher Walken). Lea Seydoux also appears briefly as Lady Margot, a young Bene Gesserit who seduces the wonderfully erratic villain Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler). Indeed, Dune: Part Two is overshadowed with the growing sense of the Bene Gesserit's deep-seated wisdom and power — theirs is a power that does not pick sides, but lurks in the shadows pulling the strings.
The men of Dune are loud and, often governed by pure impulse and emotion. As Paul, Chalamet yells and roars and thumps his chest. Butler, the film's young villain, is merely a different side of the same coin: a psychotic Harkonnen who repeatedly kills on a whim, he is all bluster and emotion. Javier Bardem's Stilgar, an ardent believer in Paul's messianic status, is an overzealous obsessive whose eyes well up every time a new element of the prophecy is fulfilled. Conversely, each expression of female power is quiet, shadowy, measured, but, in the long-run, far more effective. After the first film relegated women to the shadows, the second film shows us why: in this patriarchal world, that's how the powerful women have to operate.
Meet 'FutureFlo'.
The film ends with Zendaya's Chani setting out on her own path after seeing first-hand what the quest for power and religious zeal has done to the people she loves. Though not a Bene Gesserit, she, like the other women, is clear-sighted in her own way.
On the surface, Dune is your typical male-dominated sci-fi fare — but look a little deeper, and you'll see it is women who are some of the most complex characters on screen: they are capable of cruelty, kindness, love, intelligence, scheming, ferocity and planning. But like the giant worms that burrow below the sandy dunes of Arrakis, they lurk below the surface until it is their moment to strike. And after last year's cultural mania around girlhood, these fierce, powerful and often morally dubious women could not be more refreshing.
Dune: Part Two releases in UK cinemas on 1 March 2024.
