Sin City: A Dame To Kill For isn’t out until this coming Thursday, August 21, but promotion has been going on for months. Maybe you’ve noticed that this time around, it’s mostly (if not all) focused on the ladies – from Jessica Alba’s no-longer damsel-in-distress Nancy, to Rosario Dawson’s dominatrix with a deadly attitude Gail, to the Dame herself – Eva Green as Ava Lord. These are no-nonsense, cliché-free female characters. Well, technically they’re all cliché, but that’s the point – it’s all very post-modern and ironic and noir-inspired, etc.

Jessica Alba
Yes, ok, the women are still strutting around in their underwear. But this time they are empowered, apparently.

 

You’ll notice that despite a very strong male cast, boasting Mickey Rourke, Josh Brolin, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and a cameo by Bruce Willis, it’s still the female characters, who remain the main focus. Alba’s character in particular has gone through the classic noir roles and become the heroine of her own story – or at least that’s the intention.

“Being able to play a character that starts off being this kind of victim who’s an innocent naive girl ... and then to see her take her destiny into her own hands and avenge him and become this warrior was so cool,” says Alba, for the New York Daily News.

The other main ladies  – Rosario Dawson’s second turn as Gail and Eva Green’s debut as Ava – are both femmes fatales from the start. Both actresses sound like they had a lot of fun portraying that. Dawson in particular drew inspiration from classic Hollywood ladies.

Watch the trailer below.