Do nothing. Stay and fight. Or leave. In 2010, the women of an isolated religious community grapple with reconciling a brutal reality with their faith.
The women in a Mennonite colony are at an impasse. They have suffered greatly at the hands of the men of their colony and must decide whether to do nothing, stay and fight, or leave. The women gather in a barn to discuss.
The leading players in this film are Ona (Rooney Mara), open and thoughtful, and pregnant. Salome (Claire Foy) is bursting with rage, and Mariche (Jessie Buckley) is similarly standoffish. Agata (Judith Ivy) and Greta (Sheila McCarthy), two older women, serve to offer their wisdom to the group. Oscar-winning actress Frances McDormand also appears, but she is barely in the film.
These women are poorly educated; most cannot even read or write. They have a male schoolteacher named August (Ben Whishaw) to document and note what happens in their meeting.
What follows next is a lengthy discussion. Some women want to stay and try to gain equality with the men, while others want to leave so they can start their own colony elsewhere. They try to weigh the pros and cons of each option and always keep in mind that their ultimate goal is to do what is best for themselves.
Sarah Polley is the writer and director of “Women Talking,” adapted from Miriam Toews’s book of the same name. And though I have not read the book, I think Polley did an excellent job adapting the book for the big screen, and it certainly did not hurt that she had this powerhouse ensemble.
No judgment is cast on those who voice their opinions in this discussion, even if they are unpopular with the mass. Also, while this is a sad story, the script throws in a few funny moments now and then to help lighten the mood. In my eyes, Claire Foy was the clear scene-stealer from this ensemble though her lines tend to be more fervent. She has every right to be as angry as she is.
A minor gripe is that while Whishaw’s character is sensitive and understanding to the women’s plights, I believe he is a tad too much in the film. Of course, the story is not about him, but I was sometimes taken out of the discussion when he was on screen.
Brief flashes reveal how these women have suffered and are pretty harrowing. Luckily, they are nothing more than flashes. I found “Women Talking” to be quietly powerful. Despite the lack of education for these women, their conversation was well-articulate and introspective. These actors gave great performances that helped make the film more engaging, even though they were just women talking.
In Theaters Friday, January 13th
