Jessie Buckley does the great-role-great-performance double again in Women Talking, an adaptation of the Miriam Toews bestseller that finds the Irish star in the best of company.
This ensemble drama flips between terrifying and tender as a group of grandmothers, mothers, and daughters in a religious colony debate their next move after it is discovered they have been drugged and raped by husbands, sons, brothers, and neighbours over a prolonged period of time.
With the rapists in custody and nearly all the remaining adult males gone to the bail hearing, time is of the essence as the women decide whether to stay and fight or leave.
Set almost entirely in a barn and feeling like a powerhouse play brought to the big screen, it's fascinating to watch the back-and-forth between Buckley's Mariche, Claire Foy's Salome, Rooney Mara's Ona, and the rest of the women. Taking the minutes is Ben Whishaw's August, a kind teacher who has recently returned to the colony after years as one of the banished.
Actor-turned-writer-director Sarah Polley has carved out a remarkable second career (Away from Her, Take This Waltz, Stories We Tell) since going behind the lens. Some will contend that Women Talking is her best yet - she also did the script. With the film and Polley nominated for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay at this year’s Oscars, the case can easily be made that Buckley, Foy, and Mara should have joined them on the shortlist.
Regardless of the vagaries of the 2023 awards season, this is a film that will stand the test of time.
