‘Women Talking Telluride Review: Rooney Mara And Superb Female Ensemble In Sarah Polleys Powerful Drama

The women in question belong to an isolated rural religious order on an unknown prairie, and the debates they engage in in Sarah Polley's intellectually adventurous and politically astute new film are an ongoing debate that will determine the future of these mostly young women.

Of course, Polly speaks to all women, but also to men who have accompanied the significant political and social changes of recent years and which only show signs of acceleration. The writer-director assembles a remarkable cast to portray women at various stages of life, drawing on outrageous attitudes and behaviors from past and present to present a vastly altered future, a future that could only be imagined after death. in the right direction or, as a young black filmmaker from New York hoped and imagined more than three decades ago, to do the right thing.

There is no more time

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Based on the 2018 novel by Miriam Toews, Talking Women is Polly's fourth feature film, following Far From Her, Take This Waltz and The Stories We Tell. It will have its world premiere this weekend at the Telluride Film Festival. in cinemas 2.12. The new film initially takes place in a barn, where eight trauma survivors discuss their horrific experiences and reflect on being repeatedly raped and abused as children (in addition to nominal Mennonites). But it's not a documentary, or even a courtroom drama, and it doesn't look like one at all.

The women take matters into their own hands and decide to start their own investigation, a debate based on the difficulties they have imagined, and whose decision will determine the way the community as it is must go forward: do nothing .. , stay and fight or go away

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This leads to serious disputes - about forgiveness, sustainability, punishment, the need for change, the possibilities of radical reform. Doing nothing is not an option, but the discussion of the other two continues for two days.

Who these women are, where and when the action takes place, Polly refrains from. The rural setting helps ground things in antiquity, but the film is decidedly modern in its concerns and multi-faceted.

From the beginning, Polly aims to set a seductive tone with her insensitivity; it is alive and at the same time very serious, dreamy but connected to life, aesthetically playful even when dealing with harsh reality. He jumps and dances and is hard to catch, even when he's preparing to strike hard - he really flutters like a butterfly and stings like a bee.

Since the women in this group have never been allowed to learn to read and write, August (Ben Whishaw), a respectful college professor who loves Ona (Rooney Mara), one of the young women, records their thoughts. The fact that the only male character in the play is such a listless and docile little dog raises eyebrows for a moment or two, but it's still secondary to the underlying issues, however undisciplined and chaotic the resolution. .

The style and tone of the film is unsettling, varied and inspiring, although it's not entirely clear what's going on at any given moment. A rich cast - no main roles per se - Judith Ivey, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, Frances McDormand (also a producer), August Winter, Kate Hallett and Liv McNeill. For the record, Brad Pitt is an executive producer. Plan B is produced by Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner.

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