Women Talking (film)

Women Talking (film)
File:Women Talking poster.jpeg Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Sarah Polley
Produced by	Dede Gardner Jeremy Kleiner Frances McDormand
Screenplay by	Sarah Polley
Based on	Women Talking by Miriam Toews
Starring	Rooney Mara Claire Foy Jessie Buckley Judith Ivey Ben Whishaw Frances McDormand
Music by	Hildur Guðnadóttir
Cinematography	Luc Montpellier
Edited by	Christopher Donaldson Roslyn Kalloo
Distributed by	United Artists Releasing (United States) Universal Pictures (International)
Release dates	September 2, 2022 (2022-09-02) (Telluride) December 23, 2022 (2022-12-23) (United States)
Running time	104 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$413,401

Women Talking is a 2022 American drama film written and directed by Sarah Polley. It is based on the 2018 novel of the same name by Miriam Toews, and inspired by real-life events that occurred at the Manitoba Colony in Bolivia. The film stars Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, Judith Ivey, Ben Whishaw, and Frances McDormand, who is also a producer on the film.

Women Talking had its world premiere at the 49th Telluride Film Festival on September 2, 2022, and was released in select cinemas in North America on December 23, 2022, before a wide release on January 20, 2023, by United Artists Releasing. The film received acclaim from critics, who praised Polley's screenplay and direction, the performances of the cast (particularly Foy, Buckley, and Whishaw) and score. It was also named one of the top ten films of 2022 by the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute.

Premise

In 2010, eight women from an isolated Mennonite colony grapple with reconciling their reality with their faith after it is revealed that men from their community drugged and raped the community's women at night for years.

Cast

• Rooney Mara as Ona
• Claire Foy as Salome
• Jessie Buckley as Mariche
• Judith Ivey as Agata
• Ben Whishaw as August Epp
• Frances McDormand as "Scarface" Janz
• Sheila McCarthy as Greta
• Michelle McLeod as Mejal
• Kate Hallett as Autje
• Liv McNeil as Nietje
• Emily Mitchell as Miep
• Kira Guloien as Anna
• Shayla Brown as Helena
• August Winter as Nettie / Melvin

Production

93px

Director and screenwriter Sarah Polley (left), actress and co-producer Frances McDormand, and author of the novel Miriam Toews

In December 2020, it was reported that Frances McDormand would star in the film, which would be written and directed by Sarah Polley. In June 2021, Ben Whishaw, Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, Judith Ivey, Sheila McCarthy and Michelle McLeod joined the cast of the film. Hildur Guðnadóttir composed the film's score.

Principal photography took place from July 19 to September 10, 2021 in Toronto, with COVID-19 safety precautions in place. Costume designer Quita Alfred procured some fabric and prayer coverings from an actual Mennonite community store, using differing colors and patterns for each family to represent certain traits they held as a unit.

Music

Main article: Women Talking (soundtrack)

Hildur Guðnadóttir composed the film's score, with Skúli Sverrisson providing guitar solos. The soundtrack was among the inaugural titles released through Universal Music Group's label Mercury Classics Soundtrack & Score, which was released this film's soundtrack digitally on December 23, 2022, the same day as the start of the film's limited theatrical release. It was released on physical CD later that month. The score cue "Speak Up," which served as the basis for the film's trailer music, was released digitally on November 4, 2022.

Release

The film had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival on September 2, 2022. It also screened at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival on September 13, 2022, followed by screenings at the 60th New York Film Festival on October 10, 2022 and at the 2022 AFI Fest on November 5, 2022. It began its limited theatrical release in North America on December 23, 2022, with a wide expansion set for January 20, 2023. It was originally scheduled for a limited release on December 2, 2022, but was moved to December 23 to avoid competition with Avatar: The Way of Water.

Marketing

The film's trailer and a featurette about the making of the film were released on October 10, 2022. A second trailer was released on December 14, 2022.

Reception

Box office

On the first weekend of its limited theatrical release, it grossed $40,530 from 8 theaters, making it the worst platform opening of the year. Deadline cited the proximity of Christmas, the nationwide impact of Winter Storm Elliott, and the general public no longer showing support for prestige films as contributing factors.

Critical response

93px

93px

93px

Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley and Ben Whishaw all received particular praise for their performances.

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 90% based on 182 reviews, with an average rating of 8.2/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "While Women Talking sometimes forsakes entertaining drama in favor of simply getting its points across, its message is valuable -- and effectively delivered." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 78 out of 100 based on 40 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews."

Peter Debruge from Variety called the film a "powerful act of nonviolent protest", he wrote that "whatever you make of the experience, it's a thrill to see a woman of Polley's intuition pushing the language of cinema once again". In a review following the Telluride Film Festival, Justin Chang from Los Angeles Times described the film as "a movie that deliberately hovers between drama and parable, the materially concrete and the spiritually abstract, and whose stark austerity sometimes gives way to bursts of salty wit and cathartic laughter".

Accolades

Main article: List of accolades received by Women Talking

Polley received the Telluride Film Festival Silver Medallion tribute award. Composer Hildur Guðnadóttir received a tribute award at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. It was also nominated for Best Screenplay and Best Original Score at the 80th Golden Globe Awards, Best Ensemble Cast of a Motion Picture at the 29th Screen Actors Guild Awards, and received 6 nominations at the 28th Critics' Choice Awards, including Best Picture.

External links

• Official website
• Women Talking at IMDb
• Official screenplay