by A.J.
Best Pictures #89 2022 (95th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee
“Your story will be different from ours.”
It feels wrong to say that Women Talking, given its subject matter, is entertaining. Yet it is never dull or boring; from beginning to end it is an engaging and interesting film, challenging only in its subject matter—women deciding how to deal with prolonged sexual and physical abuse. This is not a dour or harrowing film though its characters have been through harrowing experiences, nor is it like sitting through a lecture. The approach taken by director Sarah Polley, who also adapted the screenplay from the novel by Miriam Toews, keeps the focus on the characters, not the trauma, though their trauma informs so much about their personalities and perspectives.
The setting is an isolated Mennonite community but the time and location remain unspecified for most of the movie. All of the men have traveled into the city to bail out one of them who was arrested and in jail. This gives the women of the community two days to gather and make a decision about their future. They meet in the loft of a barn and discuss their options: stay and fight, or leave. Either way they will likely be excommunicated, meaning they will be turned out of the community in this life and closed from heaven in the afterlife. Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, and Jessie Buckley are the most prominent players of a great ensemble. Salome (Foy) and Mariche (Buckley) provide fierce and impassioned speeches. Ona (Mara), playing a gentler character, provides introspection. Judith Ivey, as Ona’s mother, Agata, also gives a stand out performance. In a small role, Frances McDormand, who is also a producer, plays the mostly silent character known as Scarface, part of a third group of women who want to stay and do nothing. Thanks to the members of the talented ensemble, these characters are more than archetypes and their arguments are more than merely talking points, which makes their talk all the more compelling and urgent.
There is a lyrical, poetic quality thanks to the cinematography by Luc Montpellier and a brilliant moving score by Hildur Guðnadóttir, both of which should have received Academy attention. Women Talking also did not receive a very deserved nomination for editing by Christopher Donaldson and Roslyn Kalloo, one of its strongest elements. The women have only two days to debate and decide and while there is a strong sense of urgency, especially as the light changes and the first day passes, the pace never feels rushed. There is time for us to get to know the characters and their perspectives and how they got there. The editing also contributes to the poetic quality, mixing well-written and well-performed speeches with brilliantly photographed images. The cast also received no acting nominations though there are many worthy performances. Polley did not receive a Best Director nomination, another perplexing omission since the stylistic choices are what make this an engaging and memorable film and they do not come at the expense of or replace character development. Women Talking avoids so many pitfalls and clichés that this in itself is a testament to the skill at work behind and in front of the camera. The only Oscar nominations it did receive are for Best Picture and Adapted Screenplay.
Though this is a dialogue heavy movie bound to a very limited number of locations (the barn and outside the barn), it never feels claustrophobic or static. This community is the whole world as far as these women know as they have also been forbidden to be educated. The flashbacks used are little more than quick cut-aways, but they feel like intimate windows.
Watching and listening to the women debate the pros and cons and logistics of their options is interesting and compelling and fills the story with tension. This is a serious movie but ultimately a hopeful one. Women Talking qualifies as an “important” movie because of its subject matter, but people should see this because it is a good movie, maybe even a great movie.
Nominees: Jeremy Kleiner, Dede Gardner, Frances McDormand, producers
Director: Sarah Polley
Screenplay: Sarah Polley; based upon the book by Miriam Toews
Cast: Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, Judith Ivey
Production Companies: Orion Pictures, Hear/Say Productions, Plan B Entertainment
Distributor: United Artists Releasing
Release Date: December 23rd, 2022
Total Nominations: 2, including Best Picture
Other Nominations: Adapted Screenplay-Sarah Polley
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