Certain Women (2016)

Three vignettes exploring three different women and their fractured lives: 1) an attorney (Laura Dern) must deal with an unhinged client (Jared Harris) who's a walking time bomb. 2) A wife (Michelle Williams) feels her husband (James LeGros) doesn't appreciate her. 3) A lonely rancher (Lily Gladstone) becomes obsessed with her night school teacher (Kristen Stewart). Based on short stories by Maile Meloy and directed by Kelly Reichardt (FIRST COW). Although the film received critical acclaim, I have mixed feelings about it. The first story with Laura Dern was the most interesting to me and I was with it all the way. I found the other two problematic. The second segment with Michelle Williams meandered without finding its center. The third tale takes up most of the running time and while I found Lily Gladstone's performance marvelous, her character's loneliness is palpable and one aches for her, Reichardt's direction tilts toward self indulgence. Did we really have to see Gladstone wandering around all night when a few tightly edited (Reichardt did her own editing) scenes or a montage would have accomplished the same thing. Worth seeing for the Dern portion and Gladstone's performance but Reichardt's leisurely direction is often a drag. With Rene Auberjonois and John Getz.