Hoooo boy. This film is excellent! But it’s not easy going.
This is an adaptation of a 2018 novel about a large group of women in a remote, isolated, religious community who are being traumatised, physically and emotionally, by the men of the community. You never see the abusive men in this film - it’s firmly focused on the women. And what a cast of women it is! You don’t have to ask me twice to watch Frances McDormand in anything. (Though she doesn’t get a lot of screen time, disappointingly.) Rooney Mara and Claire Foy are also compelling.
The men of the community are taken into custody for their crimes but their release is inevitable. The women have a brief moment, with the men absent, in which they can possibly change the course of their lives. But of course they don’t all agree on what to do. So they talk … a lot. It’s fascinating and moving and complicated.
Someone in the screening I was at started a round of applause at the end which is very rare* but the sign of a terrific movie**.
Here’s a five star review of the film from The Guardian if you want to read more.
Women Talking is rated M, runs 104 minutes and opens on 16 February.
* Thank goodness. So lame!
** Or that there’s a dufus in attendance.