‘I will not be buried in this colony…’
As the rank outsider of the Best Picture nominees at this year’s Oscars, Women Talking and writer-director Sarah Polley will no doubt just be delighted to be nominated at all. It’s a pleasingly left-field choice from the Academy as while it has a star-studded cast, it is an artsy and daring film that is about as far from box office fare like Top Gun: Maverick as it’s possible to get. In that respect, Women Talking makes an interesting companion piece to Martin McDonagh’s instant masterpiece The Banshees of Inisherin…
Following a terrible revelation, a group of women from an isolated religious community must decide whether to do nothing, flee or stay and fight. Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley and Frances McDormand do most of the heavy lifting, but this is very much an ensemble piece.
Based on Miriam Toews novel, Women Talking is essentially just this – a group of women engaged in philosophical discussion. As a sucker for dialogue, I found a lot to enjoy here, despite the fact that the film tails off into pretension in the third act. The cast is great with Buckley and Ben Whishaw the standouts (the latter playing the women’s only male ally), but it is debatable whether there is enough here to justify a Best Picture nomination. That being said, Polley shoots everything in gorgeous monochrome and this is undoubtedly a well-written and unique film that has something important and salient to say.
Women Talking boasts a haunting folky score composed by Hildur Guðnadóttir, it is theatrical without being too stagy and persuasive without being too militant. It won’t be for everyone, but those that love this film will really love it.