Women Talking 

Directed by Sarah Polley

Starring Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, and Francis McDormand

Released in theaters (US) Dec. 23, 2022

Available to buy/rent from Amazon

The title worried me. Was this going to be a two-hour movie of women talking? And it was. But it wasn’t as dull and pretentious as that might sound. In some ways, in fact, it was quite good.

The Plot: In a remote Menonite colony in the 1990s, a secret is revealed. For years, a small group of the men have been drugging and raping some of the women. Eight men are arrested. Then, inexplicably, the rest of the men in the colony set off for town to bail out the rapists. While they are gone, the women discuss their options: Fight back. Leave. Or do nothing.

Interesting: The story is based on a novel (Women Talking, by Miriam Toews) that was inspired by real-life events that occurred at the Manitoba Colony in Bolivia.

What I Liked: 

* The acting: The cast is a who’s who of accomplished actresses, and they all played their parts well.

* The photography and the music: Although it could have been more varied, the dark tones worked well.

* The script: Some of the lines were very good.

What I Didn’t Like: 

* The decision to make it a stage play instead of a movie.

* The script: For every very good line, there were two that were cringe-worthy.

* The artificial “Me Too” elements: Was it necessary for one of the rape victims to cut her hair short and became, essentially, the community’s first transgender man? And what does that say about the director’s interest in exploring the subject by having the only male character express himself as a simple-minded and effeminate wimp?

In Summary: 

The movie had great potential. And several very good moments. But, ultimately, it failed because of all the Woke clichés.

Critical Reception 

* “A movie that deliberately hovers between drama and parable, the materially concrete and the spiritually abstract, and whose stark austerity sometimes gives way to bursts of salty wit and cathartic laughter.” (Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times)

* “It breaks free of the bleak narratives that have boxed in cinema’s rape victims over and over again. At the very least, it’s something we haven’t seen before.” (Megan Gibson, New Statesman)

You can watch the trailer here.