Heat: The way women are portrayed in “is not okay,” according to Ashley Judd, who describes the movie as a representation of reality
Heat: According to People, actress Ashley Judd said that the way women are portrayed in the 1995 crime thriller Heat “is not okay,” adding that the movie captures both the structural injustices that women suffer and the reality of its era.
Judd, 57, said in an interview that she and her partner had been rewatching her movies and giving them a more critical evaluation, especially with regard to the representation of women on screen.”This film’s portrayal of women is unacceptable,” Judd said, alluding to Heat. According to People, “I look at all my movies that way,”
The actress acknowledged that her viewpoint has changed with time, particularly with regard to how violence against women has often been normalized in movies. “When people say, ‘Kiss the Girls is my favorite movie,’ I’m like, ‘Let’s talk about that,’ because male sexual violence and male torture of women is not entertainment,” Judd stated in reference to her 1997 film Kiss the Girls.
Framing such tales as “resilience” often overlooks more profound structural disparities, she said. “Calling it resilience rather than going into the structural inequality that caused the harm to happen in the first place we’re all implicated in that,” she told People.
Judd said that she is still happy of her performance in Heat in spite of her criticism, referring to the movie as “iconic.”Even so, I’m happy that I appeared in this film,” she said. “It’s a reflection of reality, and reality is problematic.”
In the Michael Mann-directed movie, Judd played Charlene Shiherlis, the spouse of Val Kilmer’s character Chris Shiherlis. “Romeo and Juliet, but the reverse,” she said of their relationship, alluding to the dramatic moment when her heroine secretly decides not to turn on her spouse to the authorities.Judd recalled the last scene and added, “I’m giving him freedom.” She continued by saying that throughout the production of those scenes, she and Kilmer purposefully maintained an off-screen distance, which she feels gave the action more emotional depth. Kilmer died in April of 2025.Natalie Portman, Tom Sizemore, Jon Voight, Al Pacino, and Robert De Niro were also featured in Heat.
Judd has made appearances in films including Divergent, Frida, and Double Jeopardy since the movie’s premiere. According to People, she has also emerged as a well-known voice for women’s rights, opposing Harvey Weinstein and collaborating with groups like YouthAid, the International Center for Research on Women, and the UN.