Women Talking (2022)

In an isolated Mennonite community, the women have been tranquilized and raped systematically by the males of the colony. When the rapists are arrested and imprisoned in a nearby city, the men leave to bail the attackers. While the men are away, the women must decide to either forgive the men, stay and do nothing, stay and fight or leave the colony. Based on the novel by Miriam Toews and adapted for the screen and directed by Sarah Polley. Has there ever been a movie more properly titled? Polley's movie is just that ..... women talking. Toews' novel is based on an actual incident that occurred in a Mennonite colony in Bolivia in the years between 2005 and 2009. Frankly, this is a film that I admire more than I embrace it. There's no denying its potent message and Polley doesn't hammer us with it. Instead, she slowly peels away the layers as the women reveal their dreams, fears and there is no stone unturned as they examine and question the pros and cons of their options. Intellectually, I admire what the movie is attempting but as a moviegoer, it often seems contrived. For example, the token male character, a schoolteacher (Ben Whishaw) is so good and clean that he doesn't resemble an actual human being. He's just there to show that not all men are bad. When the women are debating, more than once I thought, "Stop the talking and get your asses outta there before the men come back!". I wish I liked it more, I really do but talking heads can hold my interest for only so long. With Rooney Mara, Jessie Buckley, Claire Foy, Judith Ivey, Sheila McCarthy and Frances McDormand.