Writer/Director Sarah Polley meticulously helms this compelling drama of women fighting to defend themselves against male sexual violence. An example of how democracy in action can work, it also has an early #meToo feel. Taking place in a rural American religious colony around 2010, these women only have 3 days to decide whether to do nothing, fight or flee.
Although it is basically a discussion among women in a barn, the dialogue is eloquent. It is delivered with determination and a range of emotions by a collection of A-list actresses, that include Rooney Mara, Jessie Buckley, Claire Foy, Judith Ivey, Sheila McCarthy, and Frances McDormand. these women of different ages have all been affected and the way they express their feelings will have you hanging onto every word.
The film is an adaptation of Miriam Teows’ fictional novel based on an actual Mennonite colony in Bolivia. Teows lived in a Mennonite colony herself, but in Canada. Watch our interview with Sarah Polley and Producer Dede Gardner at Austin Film Festival talking about the cast, democracy and the look of the film.
In this film, the men sprayed cow tranquilizer into the women’s quarters. They would then attack and rape the women overnight, even children and babies, attributing the attacks to ghosts or Satan. Although violence is at the core of the story, Polley decided not to show it too graphically here.
The women finally reported the men to the police who took them into town for questioning which gave them 3 days to talk to each other about what they could do. Do they do nothing and stay to continue being victims, fight, or leave. The clock is ticking. The film takes place over those 3 days for all to voice their opinions and come to a vote.
One sensitive young man, August (Ben Wishaw) who had been excommunicated from the colony has returned. He offers to take notes for the women who have never been taught how to read or write. August is enamored with Ona (Rooney Mara) who is pregnant. Ona is the cool, calm one, trying to keep an even keel, while Mariche (Jessie Buckley) is angry at the men for what’s been done to her and the others. Buckley’s is strong. She plays combative well as she expresses opinion to the other women. Salome (Claire Foy) is outraged by the men’s behavior and gives a fiery speech making her case.
Frances McDormand plays Scarface Janz, a crusty supporter of the status quo. She’s a respected member of the group. If she chooses not to go, will she also keep her child from escaping?
We were particularly struck by the voices of the elders, Greta and Agata (Sheila McCarthy and Judith Ivey) who became the referees keeping the discussion under control with occasional comic relief to lighten the mood. They provide the wisdom of their years without making judgements, and just as important, they provide levity and nurturing.
You might think that with a title involving the word “talking” and essentially taking place in the hayloft of a barn that this would not be a visually stimulating film. Nothing could be further from them truth. Cinematographer Luc Montpellier dutifully and beautifully captures all of the women and their expressive faces. But he also takes evocative long shots of the landscape from the barn that create a feeling of looking out on a wide world of possibility. Polley wanted the color of the film to look desaturated with a somber, dark green tinge to help set the mood of the seriousness of their discussion and where they live.
Tension builds as the women must come to a decision with their arguments and their relationships tested throughout. Buckley, Foy, and Mara are exceptional playing off each other and Polley has created an eloquently well-crafted film with emotionally charged discourse about women so relevant today.
United Artists 1 hour 44 minutes PG-13
In Select Theaters December 23rd Wide Release January 27th.
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