Review of WOMEN TALKING: To Languish or To Leave

January 25, 2023

After one of the men was caught, the women of a Mennonite colony realized that the sexual assaults among their ranks had been perpetrated by some men in their community. These men used cow tranquilizers to drug their victims to sleep before raping them. Angered, one of the victims, Salome (Claire Foy), threatened to kill the men with a scythe. The accused men were taken to prison, but they were soon coming back. 

While the men were away, Salome, her wise mother Agata (Judith Ivey), her pregnant spinster sister Ona (Rooney Mara) discussed their options with domestic abused victim Mariche (Jessie Buckley), her defiant young daughter Autje (Kate Hallett), her forgiving mother Greta (Sheila McCarthy), her chainsmoking sister Mejal (Michelle McLeod). Will they should do nothing, stay and fight, or just leave the colony?

It is shocking that this story was based on real-life incidents that happened from 2003 to 2009, when the illiterate womenfolk of an isolated Mennonite colony in Bolivia were being raped in their sleep by their very own men. Canadian writer Miriam Toews made this story into a novel about 48 hours when the women discussed their options, recorded by male schoolteacher August Epp, whose notes composed the main body of the novel.

Writer-director Sarah Polley retained the character of August Epp (Ben Whishaw) to take down the minutes of the women's meeting. However, she decided to make the child witness Autje the narrator relating their story to the child of Ona and to the audience, probably in response to criticisms on why the novel was told from a man's point of view. Keeping with the times, Polley added transgender man character Melvin (non-binary actor August Winter). 

The ensemble of actresses effectively portrayed the various views of the victimized women from three generations. The angry mothers played by Claire Foy and Jessie Buckley had the most passionate lines. The lines of older ladies played by Judith Ivey and Sheila McLeod were tempered by their age and wisdom. Rooney Mara's Ona had more grounded views, and was given a romantic angle with a good male character, Ben Whishaw's August. 

The color palette was washed-out. The main set was confined to a barn loft. The topic was how women should respond to toxic masculinity. With these elements, writer-director Sarah Polley was able to craft a very thought-provoking film that felt like an intimate and riveting theater piece. Her pacing was just right and the script was eloquent. You'd want to rewind or pause some scenes to better hear and reflect on Polley's pithy and sobering lines. 8/10.