Women Talking - Il diritto di scegliere

This movie needs to be seen in the view of what domestic abuse victims suffer through in their decision process to stay, fight, or leave. Taken in that sense, the conflicts that each woman and the group experience make sense. If you expect a dramatic story within the construct (that of an ultra-conservative fundamentalist community, where the women are kept illiterate and totally subjugated to the men), well then it won't work. These women were much too intelligent to be illiterate, and the men would have been much more a factor in the outcome.

The movie is really about the heartbreaking choices abused women are faced with. Stripped out of the setting and set up, it does work. Suspend disbelief and you will be moved.

Powered by strong performances across the board, Women Talking follows the women of an isolated & ultraconservative community who take it upon themselves to decide the course of their future in the wake of a shattering revelation which compels them to reconcile their faith with their violent reality. Bracingly crafted & effectively told, it serves as a plea, a protest & a parable all at once.

Written & directed by Sarah Polley, the story borrows its premise from a real-life event and the film is an imagined response to it - a reaction through fiction. The disturbing truth surfaces in gut-punching ways as the women argue & discuss their next move while snippets of their past adds more weight to their collective pain, rage, fear & trauma. It does get repetitive but it also gets the point across with clarity.

The colour grading is an interesting choice, for it illustrates the bleakness of their existence in a colony ripe with unchecked male aggression but more could've been achieved with the camera. Still, what it lacks in cinematic qualities, it makes up in dramatic heft & strong emotional wallop, thanks to impressive work from the entire cast, ranging from Claire Foy's fierce rendition to Ben Whishaw's tender act, all enriching the narrative.

Overall, Women Talking is a timely, topical & thought-provoking drama that brims with hate, hurt & heartbreak in its illustration of the horrifying reality of female experience but there is also hope for a better future despite the agonising brutality of their past & present. Though there was more up for grabs which it fumbles with its very own creative choices, the commitment from the cast & searing intensity of their inputs makes it an essential viewing.

A group of women from a small religious community discuss various violent acts, beatings and rape.

It is a heavy going watch, a film that manages to intrigue, sicken and inform. Some of the content, some of what you'll hear will genuinely lower your opinion on human nature, the harrowing acts some people can commit.

The best element for me, the acting, if I had to pick out a standout, I'd argue Claire Foy did a supreme job, but the likes of Ben Wishaw and Frances McDormand were excellent also.

I feel like it plays out like a stage play, I can only imagine how powerful some of the content would play out in a small, intimate theatre, one or two bits maybe get a little lost in translation onto the big screen.

I've read some very impressive reviews about this film, some people have spoken candidly about first hand experience of violence, that has clearly given them a different perspective on the film.

At times I felt a little bit like an outsider looking in, and sometimes I couldn't relate, or get into it, some of the sequences felt just a tad slow, some threads were explored but not tied up, I suppose that's just normal in such circumstances.

It's definitely a powerful time, and one that's very, very relevant in today's day and age, a time where women's rights seem to be being downplayed somewhat.

I would recommend it.

7/10.

I wouldn't normally bother to come on here and speak the negatives because, well, who cares? But as there are so few doing it I have to lend my voice. Beautifully well shot and acted, this is easily the dullest time I have had at the cinema in this, admittedly short, 2023 so far. With the splendid reviews (thanks Jim Schembri for being the lone voice on RT) and the stellar cast I was really looking forward to it, and to be fair the visuals and the initial mystery, plus the intriguing, horrid flashes of the crimes being referred to, did hold me fast for the first act. But alas, the second act was merely a repetition of the first, with the same boring conversation ongoing, that stellar cast merely masking the fact that these characters are as paper thin as any from a junky superhero movie. It got no better as it crept sombrely towards the finale, which couldn't have come sooner for me. It does what it says on the tin, so if you'd like to see some women talking, about the same thing, in a barn, for an hour and three quarters, fill your boots.

A few marks for the acting, the score (which really was clever - what a waste) and the cinematography: 4/10.

You go to bed then wake up bruised, bloody, quite groggy and confused; you know instantly, that your body's been abused, your mind cannot conceive, all the torment and the grief, but you're not the only one, that's being used. So the women of the colony convene, to discuss the implications of what's been, carry on like there's no wrong, stay and fight which might prolong, or leave this place, put barriers between. The conversations, confrontations ebb and flow, the picture of what's taken place is shown, anguish, misery and despair, amongst a culture built on prayer, where the men have their own rules, their manifesto.

It's a wonderful piece of filmmaking that engages from the outset with great dialogue, a disturbing story, and an empowering conclusion - with outstanding performances throughout.