Women Talking (2022) Movie Review
Women Talking is based on a 2018 novel of the same name written by Miriam Toew. The novel documents the true story of a Mennonite community in Bolivia. While watching the movie it’s hard to imagine the events could have happened in real life. But then again, it really isn’t–especially if you’re a woman. The movie takes some creative license and changes some parts of the story but the gist is really the same.
The women in the community have been enduring a series of rapes and sexual assaults perpetrated by the men they call friends, family, and community members. The facts are disturbing. The men drug the women using a cow tranquilizer and then rape them as they are unconscious. The women wake up bruised, bloody, and beaten and more than one of them becomes pregnant. When we enter the film, the women are alone in the community. The men have all left to bail a few among them out of jail. The women are given a few days to decide how they want to proceed. They can stay in the community and risk more attacks, they can stay and fight the men when they return, or they can leave.
A small representative group is tasked with meeting and discussing the pros and cons of the options. There is Ona (Rooney Mara), the most optimistic of the group who somehow still believes in the good of people, even men. Mariche (Jessie Buckley) is severely abused by her husband who is a drunk. Salome (Claire Foy) is the polar opposite of Ona, drunk with anger and rage and ready to fight to the death if needed. There are a few others who participate in the debate including two older women who provide the wisdom of many years lived. And then there’s August (Ben Wishaw), the only man in the movie, who is in charge of taking the meeting minutes because none of the women can read or write. This is truly an ensemble performance with each individual leaning on the others to come to life. Each of the women (and Wishaw) give tremendously powerful performances and present all sides of the debate they are undertaking.
Aside from the performances, the other standout is the screenplay itself. Several times throughout the movie the actors deliver lines that are so heartbreaking it will cut you to pieces. So many wonderful insights are shared about being a woman and how difficult it is to navigate a world in which you are taken advantage of time and time again. Most of the women are mothers and are struggling to rectify how to raise their children in this world–fearing that their daughters will grow up to be assaulted (one three-year-old already was, which will truly turn your stomach) and worrying that their sons will grow up to commit these heinous acts. Screenwriter and director Sarah Polley infuses the movie with brilliant and insightful bits of dialogue that express so much of what it feels like to grapple with these issues.
The only drawback of Women Talking is that it feels much more like a play than a movie. The title is apt, much of the movie is just women sitting in a barn talking and trying to decide what to do. There is very little action which will be a turn off to most viewers. But those who can sit and really consider what the women are saying, will find a worthy microcosm of the entire debate that has been at the forefront of society, especially since the #MeToo movement. The women are talking, and it would sure be nice if people would listen.
You’ll like this movie if:
1. You’ve read Miriam Toew’s book
2. You like dialogue heavy movies
3. You want to watch a brilliant ensemble
