I had heard a lot of hype about Women Talking so I was very excited to finally get the chance to sit down and watch it. Women Talking is written and directed by the very talented Sarah Polly. The movie is based on the 2018 book of the same name which was written by Miriam Toews.
How to Download Women Talking
You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice.
The Movie Review
One of the things that people have been raving about is the cast. We have a fantastic ensemble cast here with the likes of Rooney Mara (The Social Network, Nightmare Alley), Claire Foy (First Man), Frances McDormand (Transformers: Dark of the Moon, The French Dispatch), Jessie Buckley (Dolittle, Men), Judith Ivey, and Ben Wishaw (Cloud Atlas, Paddington). This is one of those movies where I could not single out a specific performance, they all just work incredibly well together at bringing this rather grim tale to life.
The setting of the movie is this very strict and conservative religious colony. We have a group of women that realize they have been the victim of sexual assault at the hands of the men for many years. It is a very brutal story and it does not waste any time and gets going right from the start.
It turns out that the men have been drugging the women as a way to have sex with them and also, and they have been forcing them to as well! This all comes to light and the men found responsible are taken to jail for trial in a nearby city. The rest of the men from the colony are going to go there to bail them out and be there for the case so only the women (and one man and some male children) are left behind.
What makes up the majority of the movie is the discussions by the women about what they should do next. There are some really polarizing views of what the women feel like they should do next. I found this to be very interesting, but I can also see why some people are saying that most of the movie is just people sitting around talking, but to be fair the title of the movie is Women Talking.
Some of the women want to stay and fight, and even some talk about violence! Some say that they should forgive and look to their faith. Then we have others that say they should leave and start something new, with new rules and ideas. It makes for some very tense discussions and we get to learn more about the main ladies involved and what they have gone through.
I found this to be a very interesting tale and one that could be quite brutal in places. I think a huge reason I got so into it was that the acting was incredible. There are so many strong performances here and they do such a wonderful job of making you believe what they are talking about and fighting for.
While I did find this a very engrossing kind of movie. I can also see why some people might find the movie hard to sit through. I had a buddy who even said it felt more like he was watching a play than a movie! Still, I do think this is a movie that is worth checking out, I am even tempted to check out the book it is based on.
