Review of Women Talking (2022) by Markhreviews — 31 Jan 2023

They would wake up sore, bruised and often bloodied. Women and girls ranging in age from 5 to 65 were rendered unconscious by a cattle anesthetic, then raped and sometimes beaten. Unmarried girls in this remote Mennonite community became pregnant. A young child required antibiotics for a sexually transmitted disease.

A title card at the beginning of “Women Talking” indicates that “what follows is an act of female imagination.” While that may be true for the dramatization central to this story, the underlying facts are quite real. From 2005-2009, in a remote Mennonite community in Bolivia over 150 women and children were raped after being administered a cattle anesthetic. Eventually, 8 Mennonite males were convicted for these crimes, with each sentenced to 25 years in prison. They remain incarcerated today.

In 2018, Miriam Toews, a Canadian Mennonite, wrote the book “Women Talking,” a fictionalized account of this story. She co-wrote the screenplay for this film with Director Sarah Polley (“Stories We Tell,” “Take This Waltz”). In this dramatization, there are no police or other outside authorities to rely on. In the primary action of the film, the women of the community convene to decide among themselves how they will respond to this continuous abuse. Should they do nothing? Stay and fight back? Leave? Because much of the film centers on, wait for it, women talking, this film fortunately features actors with the skill and charisma to hold the attention of the audience. Mariche (Jessie Buckley – TV’s “Fargo”) represents stoic fatalism. Salome (Claire Foy – early seasons of “The Crown”) represents rage and an unbridled zeal to protect her children going forward. Agata (Judith Ivey, a staple for years on TV and Broadway) offers the experienced perspective of an elder. Ona (Rooney Mara – “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”) has the most nuanced role, reflecting a desire to overcome what has happened by developing the capacity for forgiveness. The only male in this ensemble cast is August (an outstanding Ben Whishaw – Q, in the latest Bond installments), who takes the minutes for this group conversation, a role made necessary because these cloistered women were never allowed to learn to read or write. While the dialogue often feels like a play and the film has the limitations of a chamber piece, Polley and Toews carefully raise enough interesting issues to keep the momentum from stalling. Because there’s so much emphasis on dialogue, Composer Hildur Guonadottir (“Taŕ”) provides an understated score that’s pitch perfect. And Cinematographer Luc Montpellier (TV’s “Counterpart”) uses a muted color palette to ensure viewers focus more on what they characters have to say, less on how they look.

Because Director Polley wisely chose not to depict any of the assaults, this isn’t a film that’s hard to watch. It’s a film that feels urgent, important and disquieting. But Best Picture? Not so much.