Director Sarah Polley’s chamber piece offers truth in advertising. Its title may be the most literal in movie history. It’s like 12 Angry Men…only there are 8…and they are women….and although their story is important to tell and to know, I’m afraid it’s a long sit. Alas, this is no 12 Angry Men.
Based on a novel which, in turn, was “inspired by” an event that took place in Bolivia in the 2000s, it’s likely that just the bare framework survives in this Oscar bait film.
A Mennonite-type community, living out in the country and eschewing modern life, has a problem. The women of the community – already forbidden to read and write and, essentially, learn anything – are also being brutally raped by some of their menfolk who are using an animal tranquilizer to knock them out, some as young as children, before committing the sexual assaults.
As horrific as that set up is, the film itself takes place almost entirely inside a barn, where the aforementioned women meet to choose one of three options: stay and forgive, stay and fight, or leave. It becomes quickly apparent that leaving is what will win the most points in their circular argument.
Great points are made. Persuasive arguments are hashed out. But films, sorry to be crass, are meant to be entertainment on some level. Popcorn and soda will be sold. Parking will be paid for. There is a self-regard about this film that is off-putting. “Eat your vegetables,” it tells us. “You can go see Top Gun afterward.
To which I reply: “Have you ever seen Schindler’s List?” That is a film with the heaviest of subject matter and the most heartbreaking of subplots. And yet, it was also offered as an entertainment. You can’t appreciate the message if you’re asleep. You must feel like you have a stake in the outcome, even though you clearly don’t. Also, moments of levity are both needed and realistic.
Polley has proven to be a competent director, and the cast of actresses are an all-star team of heavy hitters. The one male cast member of note, played by a mealy-mouthed Ben Whishaw, a very fine actor, spends the film lying (figuratively) prostrate.
One last beef: the women in the cast have been barred from reading, writing and learning (indeed, it is the Whishaw character who has been conscripted to write down the minutes of the meeting) and yet they speak like Shakespearean thespians with complex ideas and flowery language and perfect grammar.
I didn’t believe this movie for a second. I knew I was supposed to admire it and be edified by its subject matter. But I watched it twice and just couldn’t get on board.
Women Talking | Rated PG-13 | 2 out of 4 Stars
With Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley and Frances McDormand
Just a note. The rapes in the Mennonite colonies happened in the late 2000s.
https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-48265703
In the book, their talk is synthesized and interpreted by the narrator, August Epp. This may account for the fact the women talk with some vocabulary that you wouldn’t expect. In the movie, though, it didn’t bother me. I was surprised how entertaining it was. I suppose my intellect was engaged enough as I thought through with the women what I would do in that situation.
I was looking forward to Top Gun and watched it in a half empty theater in Chicago, and I actually tuned out a bit. Some of the flying sequences were awesome but it was pretty pain by numbers and the romance was completely without interest.
Vegetables are not for everybody.
Thanks for catching the error – it has been corrected. I am glad you enjoyed the film. So far, Aftersun is my favorite of the year. I’m not much of a Top Gun guy.