Ashley Judd is taking a critical look back at her extensive filmography, and her iconic 1995 crime thriller "Heat" is no exception. In a recent candid interview, the 57-year-old actress opened up about how her perspective on the representation of women in cinema has evolved dramatically over the decades, leading her to confront some uncomfortable truths about the projects that helped define her career.
While revisiting the Michael Mann masterpiece with her partner, Judd found herself troubled by what she saw on screen—not because of the performances or craftsmanship, but because of how the film's female characters were constructed and utilized within the narrative. "The depiction of women in this movie is not okay," Judd stated directly, making clear that her critique extends far beyond this single production. "I look at all my movies that way," she added, revealing a systematic reevaluation of her entire body of work through a contemporary feminist lens.
This critical reassessment isn't limited to "Heat." Judd expressed particular concern about her 1997 thriller "Kiss the Girls," where she faced similar issues regarding the portrayal of gender-based violence. When fans tell her that "Kiss the Girls" is their favorite film, Judd uses it as an opportunity for deeper conversation. "Let's talk about that," she responds, "because male sexual violence and male torture of women is not entertainment, and that's what that movie is about." Her words cut through the common defense of such content as merely fictional or historically accurate, instead challenging the very premise of what audiences choose to consume as entertainment.
Judd's analysis goes beyond simple criticism of on-screen content. She interrogates the language we use to discuss these narratives, particularly the tendency to label female characters as "resilient" when they survive trauma. "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 reflected. This observation highlights how media can inadvertently normalize systemic issues by focusing on individual survival stories rather than the broader cultural problems that create such narratives.
Despite her sharp critique, Judd maintains a nuanced perspective on her participation in "Heat." She doesn't disavow the film or her performance, instead choosing to sit with the complexity. "I loved being a part of 'Heat,'" she affirmed. "And I'm glad, still, that I was a part of this movie, and I do think it's iconic." This acknowledgment demonstrates her ability to separate the artistic and professional value of a work from its social implications.
Judd contextualizes her criticism by recognizing that cinema often mirrors society's flaws. "It's a reflection of reality, and reality is problematic," she explained. "To say the movie is problematic is not to put the responsibility and focus where it lies, which is with the reality of which it's a reflection." This distinction is crucial—it shifts the conversation from simply calling out individual films to examining the cultural conditions that produce such representations. Her approach is one of "observation and critique," not condemnation.
In "Heat," Judd portrayed Charlene Shiherlis, the wife of Val Kilmer's professional criminal Chris Shiherlis. The character exists primarily in relation to her husband's storyline, a common limitation for female roles in male-driven crime dramas. Judd herself described their tragic romance as "Romeo and Juliet, but the reverse," suggesting a love story doomed not by family feud but by criminal circumstance and moral compromise.
The film's final moments between Charlene and Chris take on added significance through Judd's retrospective analysis. In a wordless farewell scene, Charlene chooses not to turn her husband in to the authorities, a moment of loyalty that also represents her entrapment within a patriarchal criminal world. Judd revealed that the emotional weight of this scene was amplified by real-life circumstances: "I'm giving him freedom. I distanced ourselves from each other for this scene," she explained. "Once Val and I finished the other scenes, we didn't connect again, which may have, in its own way, contributed to the feeling of the finality of this moment, and the longing."
This behind-the-scenes detail becomes particularly poignant given Kilmer's death in April 2025, adding a layer of real-world finality to their on-screen goodbye. The intentional distance between the actors mirrors the emotional distance their characters must maintain, blurring the line between performance and genuine emotion.
"Heat" boasted an extraordinary ensemble cast including Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Jon Voight, Tom Sizemore, and a young Natalie Portman. Yet despite this star power, Judd's critique suggests that even prestigious, well-crafted films can fall into patterns of limited female representation. The movie's focus on masculine codes of honor, professional criminality, and cat-and-mouse games between male protagonists left little room for its female characters to exist as fully realized individuals.
Since her breakout role in "Heat," Judd has built a diverse career spanning independent films like "Frida," blockbusters such as "Divergent," and thrillers including "Double Jeopardy." More significantly, she has become one of Hollywood's most vocal activists for women's rights. Her courageous testimony against Harvey Weinstein helped ignite the #MeToo movement, and her work with organizations like YouthAIDS, the International Center for Research on Women, and the United Nations has established her as a formidable advocate for gender equality.
Judd's willingness to critique her own work demonstrates the evolution of her consciousness and her commitment to accountability. Rather than simply celebrating her filmography, she's engaging with it critically, using her platform to educate others about the subtle ways media can reinforce harmful gender dynamics. Her approach offers a model for how artists can acknowledge their participation in problematic systems while working to dismantle them.
The actress's reflections on "Heat" and "Kiss the Girls" arrive at a moment when Hollywood is increasingly grappling with its legacy of on-screen misogyny and off-screen abuse. Judd's voice adds crucial nuance to these discussions, reminding us that critique is not the same as cancellation, and that acknowledging flaws in beloved works is necessary for cultural growth. Her perspective challenges audiences to watch more thoughtfully, to question what they're being shown about gender, power, and violence, and to consider their own complicity in the systems that produce such narratives.
By turning her critical eye inward, Ashley Judd transforms her filmography from a simple list of credits into a living document of cultural change—a testament to how far both she and society have come, and how much further we still have to go.