Review: Women Talking
The women of an unnamed religious community have found themselves victims of countless drugging and rapes. They hold a vote for three options; do nothing, stay and fight, or leave. Stay and fight and leave tie and a group of women are chosen to talk it out and decide for all.
Director Sarah Polley and Miriam Toews adapt this from Toews' novel, which was based on a real story of a Mennonite community in Bolivia in the mid aughts. It's horrifying and thankfully in Polley's capable hands there are no gratuitous scenes of these acts of violence. We only see the aftermath of what these women are left to deal with.
Oona (Rooney Mara) is unmarried and pregnant after her attack. She's thoughtful and open to both decisions at hand. Salome (Claire Foy) is angry. Her 4 year old daughter was attacked, and she's ready to stay and fight these men to the death. Mariche (Jessie Buckley) is annoyed and wants to forgive. How will they enter Heaven otherwise? Her daughter Autje (Kate Hallet) observes and serves as our narrator. There's many more women involved and they share the pros and cons of all viewpoints. The dialogue is the highpoint. This film is a masterclass in strong writing. The majority of the scenes are the women in a barn loft discussing their future, and those are the strongest.
We don't stay in one location for the entirety of the film. We do see a little bit of the colony, but those scenes do feel a bit repetitive. Not enough to bother me, but it's a criticism I understand. This film could easily work as a stage play.
The actresses involved are all wonderful. I'm extra grateful for their Screen Actors Guild nomination after seeing this. You won't go to Women Talking expecting anything light. It's heavy and sad, but it will leave you with hope at the end.
Grade: B+
I really want to see this as not just as a fan of Sarah Polley's work as a filmmaker but also because of its subject matter as it was on my multiplex for a week but it would play very early in the morning (not a morning person) or at night (not willing to pay a few extra bucks for that and getting out of the parking lot is even worse at night). It sucks that films like this aren't given a chance to be shown early in the afternoon before 4 PM or something in favor of what is popular right now.
ReplyDeleteI usually enjoy those early morning showings as that used to be the best time for me to go, but I prefer a variety now that my schedule isn't as strict. I hope you get to see this soon! It's my favorite of Polley's work.
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