Women Talking: LFF Film Review
Sarah Polley hasn’t made a film in 10 years but she’s back with a bang thanks to her outstanding drama Women Talking.
The film is set within an isolated, deeply religious colony (it’s never said in the film but they are Mennonites in the novel) where the women are frequently drugged and raped by the men. The men are taken away for a couple of days for their own safety and the women are expected to forgive the attackers when they return otherwise they won’t go to heaven. After the latest incident, the women gather in a hayloft to debate their next steps – do nothing, stay and fight or leave the community.
Women Talking does exactly what it says on the tin – it is literally just about women sitting in one location talking, with the exception of August (Ben Whishaw) who takes the minutes of the meeting. I honestly thought it was based on a play because of its setting but it’s not! When a film keeps the same set for the majority of the time, the script and performances have to deliver and they absolutely do here.
The women are mad as hell and they’re not going to take it anymore. This is particularly true for Salome (Claire Foy), who wants to stay and fight to make the rapists pay. Jessie Buckley‘s Mariche is also angry but she takes this out on the women and is very combative during the debate – but you later learn of her circumstances and understand where this attitude comes from. Foy and Buckley are the standouts of the movie and absolutely sensational as these two rage-filled women, but the entire ensemble cast is brilliant.
Whishaw is the only man featured in the movie and he is the one who came the closest to making me cry. He has had a lifelong crush on Ona (Rooney Mara) and wants to help in whatever way he can. He proves that not all of the men in the colony are evil and also represents hope for the future of the community as he’s a schoolteacher and can teach the young boys how they should treat girls.
Woman Talking sounds supremely dull as a concept but I can assure you that it’s not at all. I was riveted by their debate and what they have to say is important, powerful, thought-provoking and occasionally moving. The debate is rigorous, with them weighing up the pros and cons of each action, and each person expresses their position and the implications and repercussions are thoroughly examined. I’m not going to reveal what year the film is set in because that detail shocked me and was a total game-changer.
This film just proves how keeping women uneducated, unable to read or know where they are on a map robs them of their power, voice and independence. It is a searing, explosive indictment of patriarchal society and it made me incredibly angry. The fact that the novel was inspired by real-life events also made my blood boil.
Women Talking is a staggering piece of cinema – make sure you check it out!
Originally seen as part of the London Film Festival. In selected cinemas from Friday 10th February, followed by a wider rollout on Friday 17th February