Women Talking: Review
An intelligent, philosophical discourse.
Ever since I was able to see Women Talking during the New York Film Festival, I have been waiting patiently for it to come out so I can commence my evangelism for this film. There have been several films depicting our society’s reckoning with #MeToo, including directly addressing Weinstein in She Said, but none with the depth and loquacity of Women.
It takes place within a Mennonite community in an indeterminate time and place. There have been attacks; Director Sarah Polley doesn’t need to show the attacks explicitly to convey the horror of their sexually violent nature. The community of women come together to have a meeting to determine what should be done: do nothing, stay and fight, or leave. The motivation to convene is itself gratifying; under current politics it’s rare that a societal issue is acknowledged as real, let alone dealt with. Then again, the film issues a statement that what happens next is “an act of female imagination.”
What commences is a discourse. It’s sometimes an argument, sometimes a confession, sometimes a bible study. Each character has a point of view of their role as woman in a patriarchal society. This enables a deep and considered dialogue with a play-like flow. The film’s visual elements ground their reality, and offer insight into what is unspoken about their world.
The film is based on a book, which is in turn based on a real instance of Mennonites in Bolivia. What it most reminded me of was the real story of Umoja, the village without men. Rebecca Lolosoli, a Kenyan woman, led a group of women to start their own colony as protest against the gender-based violence they experienced, both from Kenyan men and British occupation. There, they have built a thriving community with healing and connection. Now, the only male residents are protectors, boys who grew up in Umoja. It is a refuge for women who wish to escape oppression.
The only thing that worries me about Women Talking is the people who need to see it most, of course never will. But it provides comfort to me as a piece of art that expresses so much that needs to be said. Women deserve better and so do boys. The cast of women are each incredibly skilled and powerful, and it pains me to say Ben Whishaw is my standout. So embarrassing to love the one dude in Women Talking. He is like made of glass and water; so transparent, so delicate.
I urge you to see this film if you’re a word-girl like me, or just seek hope about the world. I long for the sense of community and change I saw in this film. Out December 23!