In the world of being a mom, little is ever discussed about the inner machinations or secret desires of being a matriarch. Whether that's harboring a secret love for a beefy photographer that you hid for decades away from your nosy children and oblivious husband, or deciding to help hide a child from your former crime-boss boyfriend who wants to murder them - moms deserve a little more. Where is the love for a mom who confidently chooses to keep an affair as a cherished secret, a means to keep living? Or the gangster’s moll who hates children, but steps into her protective maternal role potentially out of a deep-seated desire for revenge against her shitty, mafia don ex-boyfriend? These questions and ideas are explored by two filmmakers, Clint Eastwood and John Cassavetes, in seemingly atypical films for both directors, but not atypical to their steadfast commitment as artists hellbent on upending the stereotypical assumptions associated with masculinity; even more surprising to some, both films offer an acute and deeply felt rendering of their female protagonists. These films also present each filmmaker in a light not normally associated with their legendary careers, films that were chosen by both directors AFTER other directors had stepped away for various reasons. They may have just been filling shoes and taking “assignments” but both works register as some of the greatest in each of their respective canons. Plus, both films present career-high performances from both Meryl Streep and Gena Rowlands, portraying characters as reluctant to their destinies as the filmmakers themselves.