Among the filmmakers who resonated with me as a burgeoning young cinephile, there were few who had as memorable of a run as Sarah Polley. It was by no means prolific, but they set a template for what I wanted out of indie cinema. Take This Waltz (2011) was this piercing domestic drama that found Michelle Williams giving an amazing performance of a complicated woman. Meanwhile Stories We Tell (2013) was on another level of amazing. It blended reality with fiction in an attempt to show how perspective can differ within a family. Stories We Tell was a masterpiece that lingered in the back of my memory ever since. Whatever she did next would be a must see.
I think what’s more incredible is that where most filmmakers would have their follow-up maybe at worst five years later, she sort of disappeared. For a near decade, she hung up the director title with only occasional collaborations as a writer (most notably the other Margaret Atwood adaptation Alias Grace). While it meant that what she had released only resonated more in my imagination, it also made me worry that I’d never see her challenge the narrative ever again. There’s a bittersweet quality to those years only matched by the triumphant surprise of Women Talking (2022).
Maybe it’s the distance between projects, but whenever someone returns to art a decade later, I’m often compelled to think that it’s because of meticulous focus on that project. There will be something so painstaking that you’ll forgive the time away. Sometimes the best art isn’t made in one mad dash. Sometimes you need to ruminate and think about every detail. It’s a fickle mistress, but I’m grateful to share that Polley’s return was not only a triumphant success, but thankfully has landed her a Best Picture Oscar nomination and a front-runner status for Best Adapted Screenplay. If it was up to me, there’d be a lot more trophies on Women Talking but for what’s already out there, I consider this a small victory.
For many, the road to release was an anxious one. General markets remained largely dormant in December with many speculating that its bad rollout would hurt the film long term. In fact, it didn’t get a proper theatrical window until around the time of the Oscar window. For anything else, that might be considered too little too late, but Polley’s film pulled a miracle. In a line-up of Best Picture nominees that includes TWO films that have grossed over a billion dollars, it’s nice to see something so modest and divisive make it into the cut. If nothing else, I’m willing to believe Women Talking will be the most beguiling of the 10 films for a variety of reasons, even though I personally love everything about it.
On the surface, this is a very simple and inactive story. It’s about a group of women determining if they will leave their society to escape abuse by men. Most would assume that what follows is a conventional three-act structure where the women leave midway through and we end with some joy on Rooney Mara’s face realizing how much better her life is in a new homeland. Polley has made something much more stifling. There isn’t an escape until the final 10 minutes. We never see the “better life” if, in fact, that exists. What we get is an academic debate from various perspectives about the pros and cons of leaving. It’s here that I notice Polley most turning the screws, finding ways to make every character feel alive even as they sit in the background, waiting for their chance to speak up. There’s more than a handful of side-eyes. Children act like children by undercutting emotional depth with yawns and giggles. This is a story so full of small detail that despite the harrowing nature it never feels entirely bleak.
It would be easy for Polley to lean heavily into the bleakness. This is one of those stories where a ticking clock lingers over every moment. Even as she shows women in various states of being bloodied or bruised, there is this hope that they will find something meaningful outside of this patriarchal prison. At the same time, not everyone is for leaving. Maybe it’s because they never experienced abuse or that their Christian roots suggest loyalty. There’s also the reality that taking their children will deprive them of certain benefits a male role model will have. Then again, are they escaping patriarchy if they are taking boys with them?
Most of the story takes place in a barn while the men are away. They have decided to visit a jail in order to bail out a man accused of rape. This is their one rare chance to speak up and feel like their voice matters. What becomes abundantly clear is how limited their worldview is. Despite diplomacy, most women can’t read so they vote via pictures symbolizing the choice to stay or go. What follows is an attempt to inspire agency among them. It’s not easy, especially as it becomes clear the fear of independence. They don’t know if things will be better.
There are hundreds of reasons that Women Talking feels like a crucial text. The most predictable is that this is Sarah Polley’s contribution to The Me Too Movement’s conversation around holding aggressors accountable. While other takes like Promising Young Woman (2020) center more around violent revenge narratives, there is something more realistic and maybe less satisfying in Women Talking. At no point does a man get stabbed out of catharsis. There’s a sense of helplessness among everyone even as they follow the caravan out of town.
This is the side of Me Too that is less glorified in fantasy. While the goals remain the same, the reality is that life is complicated. Not every woman will agree on the best ways to seek justice. Some will remain passive and others may be easier to forgive. There will be that grey area where someone will yell manically about how everyone should condemn the awfulness in more severe ways. At some point, there will be an inability to compromise. The sins of the past will remain painful, but can they go forward free of an entire sex? The dream of trying to raise boys with more compassionate worldviews is a great one to have, but who’s to say they don’t recede to poor behavior accidentally?
Another thing that makes Women Talking brilliant is how much subtext exists just outside the frame. For viewers, the correlation comes down to how they see the women in their lives. Much like 12 Angry Men57 (19), there is something profound about how Polley deftly interweaves these differing perspectives. Sometimes they differ in entire worldviews. Others come down to a 5% difference that makes one view bad or good. It’s a testament to how she writes these women that none of them feel like duplicates of another, instead feeling reminiscent of real-life counterparts. It’s maybe the best example of diversity among a female cast that has been seen in a film, showing that no group is a monolith. Given that there are even transfemme and disabled characters, Polley is doing impressive work of making it as thoroughly contemporary as possible.
This all feels like the perfect endorsement for why The Me Too Movement is a great cause with a difficult unison. When viewing something like The Assistant (2019) where it’s one perspective, it’s easy to see the patriarchy as terrible. The sensationalized emotions can’t be any more prominent. For Women Talking, there’s a handful of characters who, if they were the protagonist, could’ve sent the film to a more familiar narrative. Instead, there is that wrestle between what feels obvious to some and paralyzing to others. These are characters who want a better life, but nobody has the same blueprint for how to get it.
It is why the lingering nature is so powerful. Some could consider it dull or even frustrating. That could just be because it’s not a spectacle movie nor does it follow a conventional three-act structure. Any evolution is gradual, at times invisible. There may even be women whose intentions will ruffle feathers – and not always because they’re pro-staying. So much of the film is about demystifying the monolith nature of women in society. While they need each other for survival, they all differ in where they see their lives going.
What I love is how you could look at the performances as well and see them function on different levels. Rooney Mara has rarely been so insular, able to timidly reflect on her internal pain while navigating the discourse. Elsewhere is Jessie Buckley who delivers a more eager role that is designed to be persuasive but also suggests a fear when she doesn’t get her way. Others like Michelle McLeod reflect the value of codependence, especially as health issues threaten to knock her down at any moment. It’s to Polley’s credit that they all feel part of a community, able to find shorthand ways to connect with each other. They recognize the value of sticking together while at the same time maybe everyone needs a few hours to walk away in frustration.
This is a great-looking movie that makes the most of old-fashioned dresses. Their bulkiness exudes as much warmth as it does constriction. It’s a modest protection where they hide their scars from others. At times Polley shows women with blood pouring from underneath, but it’s never vulgar. This could be her way of reflecting the pain unseen. Everyone hurts, but never is there a chance to stare into the wound and see where it all originates from. This is as close to understanding a group of women as we’re allowed. From there, the audience must determine how much they want to relate to their struggles. Do they want them to salt the earth and move on, or is it seen as inherently selfish? I believe the answer says more about you.
Finally, I love the score by Hildur Guonadottir. While I think she’s a very accomplished composer, I have had a struggle connecting with her work. I think that the score for Joker (2019) is fine, but I wasn’t enamored by the cello-heavy decisions. With that said, I more willingly buy into the emotions that she establishes here. With the banging chimes, she welcomes in these misty orchestrations that find tenderness mixed with the dark notes. It’s meditative, quiet, and hiding from a sound that can be perceived as more masculine. It’s beautiful and delicate, able to find something provocative as it’s set opposite shots of women crossing fields and playing with children.
I love what Polley has done with Women Talking. The effort is clearly on display and has created one of the best character dramas I have seen in a long time. Rarely has a film felt so rich and diverse without delving into something much more complicated narratively. All that’s here are women trying to make the most of a bad situation, and it’s a conversation that feels airtight. Every perspective has been recognized. There are no convenient answers. What ultimately happens is more a compromise than a happy ending. The audience won’t know if it was a good idea. It’s left for them to consider whether it was foolish or not. With that said, the parallels to modern discourse are evident and few films feel as essential in symbolizing the moment quite like this. I’m so happy to have Sarah Polley back out there directing movies. I hope to see her again sooner than later.
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