Quick and Dirty Review of “Women Talking”
Official synopsis: “A group of women in an isolated religious colony struggle to reconcile their faith with a series of sexual assaults committed by the colony's men.“
“Women Talking” is a strange film. I can’t see why it was nominated for Best Picture unless it’s some kind of “token” all-woman movie to thrown into the mix. And while it’s a fine film, it left me wanting more — in fact, after the film, I sat in the parking lot at the theater and ordered the book behind the film.
And it’s about women talking — literally, that’s the entire movie. Some mind find that tedious, but I found it interesting. These highly religious women, part of a colony, must decide on a group response to a series of horrific sexual assaults in the community. Should they stay and suffer through more assaults, fight back, or leave the colony, striking out on their own? It makes for an interesting discussion.
Rooney Mara is a wonder here as Ona, one of the younger women debating with seven others on how to respond. And because the women are illiterate, they invite a man, their colony schoolteacher, August (Ben Whishaw), into their company, but only to record the proceedings for future generations.
It’s difficult to be harsh with a movie that’s exploring such tragic subject matter, so I’ll just say that I wanted more information on their colony and it’s place in the outside world. In fact, it takes a while before the audience learns whether the film is set in modern times or two hundred years ago.
An interesting film, certainly, but not Best Picture material. Although, hey, giving it a nomination got me to see it, so there’s that, right? There’s something to be said about raising a film’s profile. 6 out of 10.
