Women Talking is a movie that achieves quite a bit with very little, much like its characters. The title says it all, it's about women talking, in this case about quite serious stuff. In a remote Mennonite colony, a series of rapes have been covered up, and the women must decide between fighting back and leaving the colony. The entire movie is all about this one idea. (That being said, it's one of the heavier PG-13 movies out there.) This is a rare movie that actually might work better as a stage play, given that the overwhelming majority of the film takes place in the hayloft.
If there is one thing Women Talking needs to do right, it's that it needs to be engaging. A movie that is nothing but 1 hour and 44 minutes of talking can be quite boring. This is an engaging movie, even if it gets off to a slow start. They cover everything; they talk about leaving the only home they ever knew, the fate of their souls, whether they could possibly win a fight, what it means to forgive, how these attacks can end, whether they could have done something sooner, and much more. As you watch it, you will be invested in their decision, and you will wonder what exactly they're going to do. None of it comes off as preachy, either. While the film does ultimately take a side, it doesn't treat that as absolutely, objectively correct. The characters are simple but effective, much like the movie itself. Even with the same simple backstory, each character has something completely different to bring to the table.
There are some things to nitpick. Right at the start of the movie they say these women have never received any formal education, yet they speak more eloquently than most people do, even the most educated. How is there a transgender person in this uber-conservative colony that hasn't been kicked out? Why did they cast Frances McDormand, an elite actress with a host of excellent roles in her career, for a role with no more than 10 lines? None of this outweighs the strengths of this movie. It's a surprisingly good movie, one that exceeded my expectations. It's not Best Picture winning quality, but definitely worthy of the nomination.
By the way, how can you not associate Nearer, My God, to Thee with the Titanic?
If there is one thing Women Talking needs to do right, it's that it needs to be engaging. A movie that is nothing but 1 hour and 44 minutes of talking can be quite boring. This is an engaging movie, even if it gets off to a slow start. They cover everything; they talk about leaving the only home they ever knew, the fate of their souls, whether they could possibly win a fight, what it means to forgive, how these attacks can end, whether they could have done something sooner, and much more. As you watch it, you will be invested in their decision, and you will wonder what exactly they're going to do. None of it comes off as preachy, either. While the film does ultimately take a side, it doesn't treat that as absolutely, objectively correct. The characters are simple but effective, much like the movie itself. Even with the same simple backstory, each character has something completely different to bring to the table.
There are some things to nitpick. Right at the start of the movie they say these women have never received any formal education, yet they speak more eloquently than most people do, even the most educated. How is there a transgender person in this uber-conservative colony that hasn't been kicked out? Why did they cast Frances McDormand, an elite actress with a host of excellent roles in her career, for a role with no more than 10 lines? None of this outweighs the strengths of this movie. It's a surprisingly good movie, one that exceeded my expectations. It's not Best Picture winning quality, but definitely worthy of the nomination.
By the way, how can you not associate Nearer, My God, to Thee with the Titanic?